'The circus has come to town': Whoopi Goldberg tells The View it's 'sad' a US president is facing being indicted ahead of Trump heading to NYC court

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Whoopi Goldberg used The View's roundtable Tuesday to lament how 'sad' it was that a former president is facing a criminal arraignment before Donald Trump was indicted on 34 felony charges.

Slamming the media procession as a 'circus', Goldberg, 67, sparked fierce debate with the wayward comment, which came as the all-female panel was monitoring the situation unfolding just a few blocks away from where they were sat.

Less than three hours later - as reporters and supporters alike flocked to Fifth Avenue's Trump Tower to catch a glimpse of the ex-president - Trump emerged from the building to uproarious applause, offering a fist pump to those in attendance.

Trump's motorcade then made its way to the Big Apple DA's office further downtown, where he pleaded not guilty to to 34 counts of falsifying business records.

Calling the day a 'sad' one for America, Goldberg - whose opinions often put her at odds with her fellow panelists - remarked how embarrassed Americans must feel given the day's events.

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A few hours later - as reporters and supporters alike flocked to Fifth Avenue's Trump Tower to catch a glimpse of the ex-president on his way to court - Trump emerged from Trump Tower to uproarious applause, offering a fist pump before turning himself to the Manhattan DA

'How are you feeling about a historic day? You know, it's sad, but I'm glad something's happening,' said Goldberg, after griping about the attention Trump's arraignment was getting

Almost instantly, the statement incited outrage from the other commentators, including longtime show fixture Joy Behar.

Sunny Hostin - who in the past has received backlash for pushing her progressive opinions on the more moderate Goldberg and Alyssa Farrah Griffin during tapings - also seemed taken back, before conceding the president's 34-count indictment over a 2016 hush money payment was 'unprecedented.'

But Behar, who at 80 is the most senior staffer on the long-running program, seemed visibly more astounded than her colleagues, and began to press her fellow View veteran as to what she had actually meant. 

'It's not sad. What's sad?' she asked. Goldberg replied: 'Well, I'm sad that, in that [it is] an American president,'

Whoopi Goldberg used The View's roundtable Tuesday to lament how 'sad' it was that a former president is facing a criminal arraignment, as press and protesters continue to rally outside a Manhattan court hosting Donald Trump's indictment

The clarification then earned a tentative agreement from Behar, who conceded: 'Oh, that's sad.'

Goldberg used the opportunity to further explain her view of ongoing situation.

'Well, that's what I'm saying. It's sad an American president,' she said, before being interrupted by Behar again. 

'But the fact that he is being called in for questioning, etc. And he's being indicted because he's committed certain crimes,' Behar insisted, only a few hours before Trump was booked and fingerprinted in federal court.

'It's not sad, that's American justice.'

At that point, Hostin, once a prominent lawyer before beginning her career as a media personality in 2016, interjected, pointing to Trump's presumed innocence given the many checks and balances of the US justice system.

Flanked by fellow hosts Sarah Haines, Joy Behar, Sunny Hostin, and Alyssa Farrah Green pointed to the attention the case was getting, and said that Americans should be embarrassed

Almost instantly, the statement incited outrage from her fellow commentators, including longtime show fixture Joy Behar.

a few blocks away, protesters flocked outside Trump Tower ahead of Trump's arraignment

'Or is alleged to have committed crimes, because he has the right,' she said, putting emphasis on the legal term. 'It has to be proven.'

Goldberg responded by attempting to circle back to her initial point. 

'But again,' she emphasized, 'It's America's first - the first time in any of our lifetimes now. And I don't think any of us could have ever really imagined this.' 

Hostin then smirked: 'I imagined it,' before being met a rousing round of laughter from the studio audience in response. 

'With him, yeah,' Goldberg conceded. '[But] I mean, with other… I would never think with other presidents.'

Hostin, in apparent agreement, pointed to Trump's more progressive predecessor: 'Yeah, I would never think President Obama would do something like this.'

Goldberg added: 'Even with Bush. I mean, as angry as we got with Bush. I don't think anybody thought this was the direction we'd ever head in.'

Hostin, however, disagreed - pointing out the actions of another - and also-impeached - president, Richard Nixon.

A stony-faced former President Donald Trump snubbed reporters and walked silently into the courtroom after being fingerprinted and processed at the New York Criminal Court Tuesday

Trump was surrounded by his defense attorneys and political aide Boris Epshteyn (right) as he sat in court Tuesday

'We had Nixon who was able to get out of some things,' Hostin said, citing the notorious Watergate scandal and how it could have led to charges being filed to the then president - but instead forced his ousting. 

Farah Griffin - a former Trump aide who briefly worked as the Strategic Communications and Assistant to the then-president in 2020 - interjected: 'But even so, he had the sense to resign. You know, get out of the game.'

But Behar, apparently unfazed, protested: 'Well, you know why? Because the Republicans turned on him. That's why. 

'If the Republican Party in this country did the right thing, we wouldn't be in this position. He would have been impeached in the first place.' 

Farah Griffin, citing her history with Trump, quickly added that her former employer was likely 'spiraling' given when the pressure of the ongoing fraud face, and the prospect of his inevitable arrest.

'There's been a bunch of reporting out there that Trump is loving this and he is raising money off of it, reportedly $8 million,' said Farrah Griffin, who resigned from her White House post in 2020 after roughly three years. 

'But I know him well enough to know he's not loving this. He's spiraling.

'He's somebody who, despite his terrible actions, does think about legacy and how he's perceived and now his life, it's going to, whether it's his obituary is going to say, you know, he was indicted, the first American president to be. 

'And right now, his team is also freaking out over a potential gag order from the judge, which will prevent him from being able to speak about what happened. And that's what he wants. 

'He wants to go out and frame this his own way and spin the public. It might not be able to happen.'

In reference to the crowd then seen outside Trump's residence in Midtown, Goldberg - who was suspended last year after making comments that made light of the Holocaust - sniped: 'The circus is here. The circus has come to town.' 

Not using Trump's name, she added: 'The media frenzy continues, as you-know-who heads to a New York courthouse to become the first president to ever be arraigned on criminal charges.

'He's expected to plead not guilty. And the judge has banned cameras from televising the proceedings.'

Flanked by fellow hosts Hostin, 54, Farrah Griffin, 33, Behar, and Sara Haines, 45, Goldberg pointed out the hypocrisy of the attention the supposedly under-wraps federal investigation has commanded since it was announced last month.

'But we'll let photographers into the courtroom before things begin,' she said.

'Reporters will be allowed on a first come first serve basis. Apparently, they've been lining up since last month.'  

Trump, meanwhile, has pleaded not guilty to the 34 counts of falsifying business records leveled against him, after becoming the first President of the United states to be arraigned and charged with a crime.

Photos show the 76-year-old - who recently announced a renewed presidential run - sitting alongside his defense team in the Manhattan court room with a stony-faced.

His arraignment is currently underway.