Donald Trump supporters are going after “The View” co-host Whoopi Goldberg after she compared a Trump caravan harassing a Joe Biden campaign bus in Texas to a scene in “Mississippi Burning,” the 1988 film drama about the FBI investigation into the murders of civil rights activists James Chaney, Andrew Goodman, and Michael Schwerner in Mississippi in 1964.
On Monday, Nov. 2, Goldberg and her co-hosts discussed the Texas incident, which took place Friday, Oct. 30, on I-35. According to historian Eric Cervini, who posted footage of the “Trump Train” to Instagram, a caravan of Trump supporters surrounded a Joe Biden campaign bus for miles while it was traveling from San Antonio to Austin, Texas. Cervini said many of them were armed and were awaiting the arrival of Biden’s bus.
The ambush caused Democrats to cancel some of their planned events. A Trump supporter, identified on Twitter as @malorie_tx filmed footage in which she kept laughing and saying it was “hilarious” that they were running Biden’s staffers out of Texas. At one point she said she was nearly out of gas as a result and also captured a collision between two cars in the group.
Goldberg wasn’t amused.
“I’m here to let you know that is probably one of the most dangerous things that you can do because buses can’t stop on a dime and be happy that you drivers didn’t get hit when you surrounded this bus,” Goldberg said. “You could’ve caused all kinds of havoc. You could’ve gotten yourselves killed, because the buses can’t slow down the way you need them to.”
“Thank God this person saw and slowed in order to let you do what you did which looked a lot like a scene out of ‘Mississippi Burning’ when trucks and cars are surrounding ppl who are just trying to go drive. It was really freaky to see,” Goldberg added.
Trump supporters took issue with her comments and began flooding her with responses, some of whom called her a hypocrite for failing to call out violent protests they’ve attributed to Black Lives Matter.
“Comparing this to BLM I haven’t seen one building being burned down in Trump road rallies. Talk about kids hanging out of the top of cars what about the BLM parents giving there (sic) kids signs to hold with all swear words and bringing them to protest were people are getting hurt,” user @Mary_S1971 responded.
“Oh my woopie I watched this video in different angles. The white car caused all the issues. The trucks with their flags were traveling at a safe distance down the road. But let me remind you BLM rioters Have been doing this on freeways for the last seven months,” user @annmari85658844 added.
Another user said Goldberg’s comment was racist.
“To compare this to “Mississippi Burning” might be the most racist, race baiting thing this show has EVER done. In doing so you disgraced the memory of Chaney, Goodman & Schwerner. I’ve never been more DISGUSTED,” wrote user @jennirexfra.
But Goldberg wasn’t the only one disturbed by the incident. Countless other critics spoke out about the incident, and the FBI announced on Sunday, Nov. 1, it was investigating the matter.
“FBI San Antonio is aware of the incident and investigating. No further information is available at this time.” special agent Michelle Lee, a FBI spokeswoman in San Antonio, told Reuters in an email.
Trump, on the other hand, celebrated the caravan’s actions. He tweeted footage of the incident with the caption “I LOVE TEXAS” on Saturday, Oct. 31. He also called the drivers in the caravan “very good people” who “escorted … Sleepy Joe’s bus.”
When Trump found out about the FBI’s investigation, he wasn’t pleased. He came to the caravan drivers’ defense, tweeting they were “patriots” who “did nothing wrong.”
