'Completely out of touch': Ex-Trump aide rails at Trump ignoring 'America First' pledge

"The View" railed against President Donald Trump and the new reports of a "cash grab" of American taxpayer dollars.

During Wednesday's show, the co-hosts addressed recent New York Times reporting saying Trump wants $230 million in restitution from the Justice Department over the investigations he faced during his first term and after it.

Whoopi Goldberg began my questioning whether there is a link between Trump's $230 million request from the DOJ and the price tag of the massive ballroom that Trump promised he would personally buy for the White House. Since that pledge, however, Trump has hosted an event with his own personal major donors and corporations he asked to help fund the project.

"I think this all comes down,again, as we talk about, himdemanding money from thegovernment, again, the optics ofthis," said Sara Haines, recalling their Tuesday debate.

"He is, according to Forbes, abillionaire, $7.3 billion.The national debt of thiscountry is $37.9 trillion.The government is shut down.Federal workers aren't gettingpaid.They're lining up at food banks.There are videos of this allover," she said. "And he's grabbing money from the very government he says he's going to put first, while funding money to give to Argentina. The optics are just messing upand I don't how long the workingclass that, Alyssa, you speak toa bunch, is what really shiftedto the Republican right, and how long can he keep themwhen this is how it's playingout?"

Alyssa Farah Griffin, who served in Trump's first White House as the communications director before she left at the end of 2020, said that it's certainly not "America First," the slogan that Trump cheered for a decade.

"I see why people hateWashington," she said, after lamenting she's exhausted over it.

"The economy is not doing well.There are more people out ofwork than there are jobs available right now," Griffin continued. "Unemployment is too high. Americans are falling behind onauto loan payments. Sellers in the U.S. housing market outnumber buyers right now. Don't get me started on the farmer right now who have theircrops that they invested moneyin growing that have nowhere tosell them because of Trump'stariffs."

She said that those in her family and friends voted for Trump because they "wanted America First" so that there would be a greater focus on the American people, specifically.

"This is the exact opposite ofthat," she closed. "You're using taxpayer dollarsto, okay, enrich yourself, ormaybe you're giving it tocharity or the White House.Focus on the people. It's never been harder to get ahead than it is right now, and it feels completely out of touch."