Whoopi Goldberg criticized congressional Democrats on Tuesday for publicly debating whether Chuck Schumer and Hakeem Jeffries should remain in their leadership roles.
After the show aired clips of Democrats discussing the issue, Goldberg said she would rather hear what the party plans to do during its first 100 days. It shouldn’t matter, she said, whether lawmakers are longtime members or newly elected.
She pointed to lowering gas and grocery costs, restoring funding for SNAP benefits and reuniting separated families as possible priorities. Democrats were elected to make government work for the public, Goldberg said, warning that internal disputes could turn the party into a distraction and make it look no different from Republicans. “Get your stuff together,” she urged.
Co-host Alyssa Farah Griffin predicted Jeffries would become the next House speaker. She said criticism of his leadership was coming from the far left, while arguing Schumer should step aside, as Nancy Pelosi did, and make way for a new generation. Griffin said Schumer could take credit for helping recruit and elect Democratic candidates before moving on.
Sunny Hostin took the opposite view. Though she had previously called for Schumer’s removal, she said Tuesday that he had helped avert a government shutdown, held the Democratic caucus together and recruited strong candidates. Hostin worried a new leader might lack experience dealing with President Trump and building consensus.
Several incoming Democratic senators, including Adam Hamilton and Troy Jackson, have said they will not support Schumer as party leader. Other Democrats, including Sen. Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut, have called for a discussion about the party’s leadership.
Democratic strategist Kaivan Shroff said Goldberg was right that Democrats should focus on improving people’s lives rather than letting an internal dispute dominate their first month. If lawmakers believe Schumer should leave, Shroff said, they should explain why, hold a vote and move forward.
But he cautioned that calls to end the infighting should not be used to discourage criticism of the party’s longtime leadership. Schumer and Jeffries deserved credit for the party’s electoral gains, Shroff said, while noting that a younger and more impatient group of Democrats had just been elected and would naturally question established leaders.
Goldberg also urged Democrats last week to focus on voters’ concerns after the party’s midterm wins put it on track to take control of both chambers of Congress in January. On Tuesday, she repeated that message: Democrats should handle their work for the public before airing their internal disagreements.
