This issue sparked a recent, quite spirited exchange between The View co-hosts Alyssa Farah Griffin and Whoopi Goldberg. They pinged on former President Donald Trump’s $5,000 bonus proposal for new mothers, intended to increase birth rates in the United States. The episode as it played out on April 23, 2025, saw huge contention over the meaning and intent of the proposal.
Under Trump’s new initiative, maternal health would use $5,000 payments to cover a new mother’s “out-of-pocket” costs for hospital care. Further, it could help them to open up savings accounts for their kids. This proposal has provoked Goldberg’s ire, with the longtime Republican strategist saying he felt “insulted” by Trump’s tack. She maintained that throwing money alone at the problem does not get to the heart of what families are dealing with in today’s economy.
Goldberg pointed out the disconnect in understanding women’s needs, stating, “I am incredibly insulted by this because clearly they don’t know how women’s bodies work and they don’t know what it costs to raise a child or just have a child.” She further questioned the adequacy of the proposed amount, asking, “I don’t know what $5,000 is supposed to do.”
Former White House aide Alyssa Farah Griffin quickly jumped to defend the proposal. She proposed that it could provide opportunities if looked at through a different perspective. Without mentioning him by name, she called out Goldberg for the hypocrisy. She argued that the public would be responding positively had the same policy been introduced by President Joe Biden. “I feel like if Biden proposed this we would all be saying it’s groundbreaking and a great idea,” Griffin asserted.
Goldberg stood her ground, linking her opposition to her vision of a more holistic approach to helping families thrive. She stated, “Why not make sure that kids we already have have a shot at good schooling? If you want people to have children, you have to not scare them by cutting all these programs that they may need.” She leveled sharp criticism on Trump for his choices. These ranged from eliminating $1 billion in school and food bank funding to laying off workers who assisted low-income families with heating bills.
Sunny Hostin, another co-host on the show, added to the criticism by likening the proposal to themes from Margaret Atwood’s dystopian novel, saying it “feels very Handmaid’s Tale.” This comment highlighted fears about government overreach into individual family choices.
The ongoing legislative battle underscores a larger conversation about reproductive rights and how the U.S. supports families. As this debate continues, it’s our hope that The View remains a valuable space for all opinions and ideas. Look forward to lively debate on important social justice topics.
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