‘The View’ co-hosts come out swinging at Donald Trump a day after he insulted them

NEW YORK (AP) — The hosts of ABC’s “The View” clapped back at Donald Trump on Thursday, a day after the Republican nominee for president insulted co-hosts Sunny Hostin and Whoopi Goldberg.

“I have a personal legal note,” said Hostin. “Donald Trump, I want to thank you for personally telling so many lies and committing so many alleged crimes and providing us with material on a daily basis. You help us do our jobs and I’m so appreciative.”

On Wednesday, Trump, campaigning in Pennsylvania, called Hostin, who is Black and Latina, “dumber than Kamala,” saying: “That is one dumb woman. Sorry. I’m sorry, women, she’s a dummy.”

Later, he turned on Goldberg, who is also Black, calling her “demented.” Trump claimed he once hired Goldberg to perform and accused her of having a “foul mouth.”

“She was so filthy, dirty, disgusting, half the place left. I said I’d never hire her again,” he said. “She was so dirty. Every word was filthy, dirty. What a loser she is.”

Goldberg on Thursday wore it as a badge of honor. “I was filthy and stand on that fact. I have always been filthy. And you knew that when you hired me.” Goldberg said Trump hired her four times: “How dumb are you?”

“You know how dirty I wasn’t? I never grabbed anybody by their genitalia,” she also said, referencing the “Access Hollywood” video in which Trump bragged about grabbing women sexually without asking permission.

“There’s a difference between people who assault other people and people who say words that you don’t want little kids saying in the middle of church.”

The Trump barrage came after the daytime talk show hosted his opponent in the presidential race, Vice President Kamala Harris, for an interview Tuesday.

The co-hosts walked onto the set to the song “Dirty” by Christina Aguilera. “It’s one of the words that you-know-who used when he was talking about me in particular but he was talking about us at his rallies,” Goldberg said.

Hostin, a lawyer and senior legal correspondent for ABC News, quipped at Trump: “I admit, I may not have spent as much time in a courtroom as you have.” Then, referring to him being found liable for sexual abuse, she said, “I’ve had a history of prosecuting sex offenders, so thank you for keeping people like us in business.”

Trump has disputed the idea that his rhetoric is problematic, even as polls show he is viewed less favorably by women than by men. “The women want to see our country come back,” he said. “They don’t care.”