Amid an ongoing government shutdown that has left many Americans out of work, the White House has fired back at The View cohosts for criticizing politicians for sharing memes mocking each other instead of working together to solve a national crisis.

View panelists Whoopi Goldberg, Sara Haines, and former Donald Trump White House staffer Alyssa Farah Griffin went particularly hard on the government on Thursday’s broadcast, with Haines calling political bickering “an embarrassment to the country” as right-wing figures continue to share memes that place sombreros atop the heads of Democrats like Chuck Schumer and Hakeem Jeffries.

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“It’s actually the Democrats who are making a mockery of the American people by shutting down the government and punishing hardworking Americans all because they want to give free health care to illegal aliens,” a White House spokesperson, Abigail Jackson, alleges in a statement to Entertainment Weekly.

Chen Mengtong/China News Service/VCG via Getty U.S. President Donald Trump speaks about the mid-air crash between American Airlines and a military helicopter, at the White House on January 30, 2025

Chen Mengtong/China News Service/VCG via Getty

U.S. President Donald Trump speaks about the mid-air crash between American Airlines and a military helicopter, at the White House on January 30, 2025

Jackson continues, promising that “we’ll absolutely highlight the Democrats’ absurdity” by using – “more sombreros” in further memes to come.

According to an Associated Press analysis, Democrats did not “shut the government down” in an effort to give health care to illegal immigrants.

“Democrats say they are pushing for the inclusion of key health care provisions in the next congressional spending package. In particular, they are seeking an extension of tax credits that millions of Americans use to buy insurance on the Affordable Care Act exchange and a reversal of Medicaid cuts made in the bill Trump signed into law in July,” the outlet reported. “However, immigrants in the U.S. illegally are not eligible for any federal health care programs, including insurance provided through the Affordable Care Act and Medicaid.”

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On Thursday’s edition of The View, the cohosts went off on the government shutdown and both parties’ handling of public statements on the matter — including California Gov. Gavin Newsom jumping in on the meme trend by sharing an image of Vice President JD Vance as a Minion.

Griffin said she doesn’t know “how this possibly ends as a win for anyone,” and that she’d “remind people furloughed works, our troops, usually we pass a bill that keeps them getting paid during shutdowns, that’s not been passed as of when I last checked this morning. They’ll get backpay, but if you’re somebody who’s living close to paycheck to paycheck, that is not right.”

Griffin added that, instead of sharing memes criticizing opposing political sides, “everyone needs to just grow up and do their job.”

Jeff Lipsky/ABC Sara Haines, Ana Navarro, Sunny Hostin, Joy Behar, Alyssa Farah Griffin, Whoopi Goldberg for 'The View'

Jeff Lipsky/ABC

Sara Haines, Ana Navarro, Sunny Hostin, Joy Behar, Alyssa Farah Griffin, Whoopi Goldberg for ‘The View’

Government figures have criticized The View and its panelists in recent months, with Federal Communications Commission chair Brendan Carr even publicly broadcasting during a July interview with Fox News the potential for “consequences” for the show and its its left-leaning hosts.

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In subsequent statements to EW, the White House has harshly criticized View stars like Ana Navarro and Joy Behar.