Whoopi Goldberg Praises JD Vance’s Hillbilly Elegy as a ‘Really Interesting and Smart Book’ — Right Before Eviscerating Him

The View’s Whoopi Goldberg reached to find some sympathy for Republican vice presidential candidate JD Vance on Tuesday and at one point praised his book Hillbilly Elegy as “really interesting and smart.”

Goldberg earned laughter from her View co-hosts when she said she felt “pity” for Vance after his first days as Donald Trump’s running mate. Vance has faced backlash over multiple resurfaced clips of old comments, including him railing against “childless” voters.

Goldberg is no fan of Vance’s politics, but she argued his first days as a vice presidential candidate have her feeling bad for him.

“This poor guy. I feel so bad for him because he just can’t —” Goldberg said as laughter interrupted her. “No, I’m going to. I’m going to pity this man.”

She joked she “pitied” Vance the way Mr. T would famously “pity the fool.”

The Vance conversation eventually turned to Vance’s book, which was adapted into an Oscar-nominated movie for Netflix in 2020 by Ron Howard . The memoir detailed Vance’s upbringing in Ohio and family struggles.

Sunny Hostin accused Vance of lacking empathy for poor Americans.

“What’s so difficult to me is he writes this thing, Hillbilly Elegy , about sort of growing up poor… but he blames the people for their circumstances. Look, I grew up in poverty, I remember what it feels like to be hungry, I remember what it feels like to not have enough, I remember what it feels like when my mother made my clothes, but I do not blame the people who are still in that circumstance for being in that circumstance,” Hostin said.

Goldberg then offered praise for Vance’s book, but argued he appeared to hold to none of the lessons from it after Hostin said the Republican senator is supposed to be the “everyday man.”

“This is the thing. He wrote a really interesting and smart book and didn’t recognize that he isn’t out of poverty. He’s bereft —” Goldberg said when Hostin jumped back in.

“He’s bereft of morality,” she said.

“He’s bereft of morality, he’s bereft of empathy… he’s got a spine, it’s just not a good one,” Goldberg continued.

“He is poor in that sense,” Hostin said.

“He’s a poor dude,” Goldberg replied.

Watch above via ABC .