Whoopi Goldberg of “The View” wants the 2026 NBA champions, the New York Knicks, to accept their White House invite. No champions have ever accepted the invitation during Donald Trump’s presidency. However, the co-host has a strong opinion on why this season’s winners should.
The View’s Whoopi Goldberg doesn’t want Knicks to snub White House invite
“The View”’s Whoopi Goldberg wants the Knicks to accept the invitation to visit the White House following their historical win in the 2026 NBA season. The topic came up after Goldberg played a clip of James L. Dolan, Knicks owner, in which he says that they have accepted White House’s invitation. The co-host then wondered whether any of the players would be okay with it, especially since no previous NBA champions had accepted the invite while Donald Trump was in office.
One by one, the other co-hosts chimed in on if and why the Knicks should visit the White House. They noted that it is ultimately each player’s decision. They also pointed out that if they decide to visit the office, they should not be criticized for it because the White House doesn’t belong just to the president but to the entire nation.
After everyone took turns, Goldberg said, “I want them to go. I want all those black men to stand in our house and remind all of those people — as we try to remind the vice president — that when you try to destroy one part of history, you’re destroying all of our history.”
The Oscar-winning actress added, “[The Knicks] as champions, not only as amazing basketball players, but as people who were down and came back up, [show that] this is what it looks like. So, I want them to go. If only so the kids know that nobody, nobody can keep you down.”
Sunny Hostin, however, remained conflicted because she believes that such situations can put “a lot of pressure on the players.” She gave an example of Jose Alvarado, a Puerto Rican player, who allegedly said he would visit the White House only if the team decided to.
Goldberg later said that the team does not have to embrace or celebrate the president personally. She sees the team as a symbol of diversity and success, particularly because it includes Black and Latino players. She believes that representation matters, given the history of race in the United States.
Originally reported by Harsha Panduranga on Mandatory.
