“Liberal pundits will flip-flop on anything — even holding criminal drug lords accountable,” a White House spokesperson said in a statement to EW.

White House slams The View’s ‘liberal pundits’ after cohost blasted ‘illegal’ Venezuela raid (exclusive)

"Liberal pundits will flip-flop on anything — even holding criminal drug lords accountable," a White House spokesperson said in a statement to EW.

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January 5, 2026 2:43 p.m. ET

Sunny Hostin; Donald Trump; Ana Navarro. Credit:

ABC/JEFF LIPSKY; Nicole Combeau/Bloomberg via Getty; ABC/Michael Le Brecht II

- Donald Trump's White House team has criticized *The View *cohosts who spoke out against his Venezuela raid.

- A spokesperson tells EW in a statement that the cohosts are "liberal pundits" who will "flip-flop" their opinions to attack Trump.

- Sunny Hostin said on the air that she felt Trump's raid on Venezuela was "100 percent illegal."

The White House has fired back against *The View* cohosts who blasted Donald Trump's recent — and polarizing — raid on Venezuela that led to what panelist Sunny Hostin called the "kidnapping and capture" of leader Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores.

Amid the controversial former president of Venezuela's arraignment in New York City, where he was transported over the weekend after being extradited from the South American nation following a deadly 30-minute assault by United States forces, Hostin called the operation "100 percent illegal" on Monday's broadcast, citing a lack of congressional approval for the move.

Navarro, a Republican who was born in Nicaragua, praised the fact that Maduro — whom she called a "murderous, corrupt, sadistic son of a bitch" — was removed from his post, but still criticized Trump for actions she chalked up to being more about his personal ego than liberating Venezuelan people.

'The View' cohosts discuss Donald Trump's raid on Venezuela.

When reached for comment on the cohosts' remarks, White House spokesperson Anna Kelly tells ** in a statement that "over 60 countries around the world held that Nicolás Maduro was an illegitimate ruler" and that "the Biden administration had a reward for information leading to his arrest," referencing a reported $25 million offer made by President Joe Biden's administration in January 2025.

"Only President Trump had the strength and courage to actually arrest Maduro for committing narcoterrorism against the United States," the statement alleges, before taking aim at *The View* cohosts.

"Liberal pundits will flip-flop on anything — even holding criminal drug lords accountable — in order to attack President Trump, but the President will always protect our homeland and put the American people first," the statement concludes.

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EW has reached out to a representative for Hostin and Navarro at *The View *for a response to the White House's statement.

Hostin kicked off Monday's live telecast by staunchly criticizing Trump's actions in Venezuela.

"International law doesn't allow it unless Congress declares war, and Congress did not do that. This country was founded on the balance of power. You have checks and balances, co-equal branches of power," Hostin said on the air, stating that "this president is doing whatever the heck he wants, without any checks or balances. And I have never in my lifetime seen this type of regime change, which is what we just saw, work out well for the United States. It just doesn't work, and in my view, this is completely, 100 percent illegal."

Sara Haines, Ana Navarro, Sunny Hostin, Joy Behar, Alyssa Farah Griffin, Whoopi Goldberg for 'The View'.

Jeff Lipsky/ABC

Navarro, who additionally praised the removal of Maduro in social media posts over the weekend, added that she doesn't "think this is at all about the Venezuelan people," because, in her view, "Donald Trump doesn't give a damn about the Venezuelan people" and only operated in his own best interests, she said.

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"I don't think Donald Trump gives a damn about drugs. If he did, he would not have pardoned the former president of Honduras, who was serving 45 years in federal prison for having brought 400 tons of cocaine into the United States," Navarro said. "I think this is a lot about Donald Trump's ego."

Maduro and Flores' indictment, which was recently made public by the Department of Justice, alleged that "for over 25 years, leaders of Venezuela have abused their positions of public trust and corrupted once-legitimate institutions to import tons of cocaine into the United States."**

*The View* airs weekdays on ABC.

Original Article on Source

Source: “EW Talk”