Joy Behar has claimed that President Donald Trump’s mission to abolish the penny is because he’s ‘jealous of Lincoln.’
During a discussion on ABC’s The View on Tuesday, Behar and her cohosts discussed Trump’s decision to stop ‘producing new pennies’.
The veteran TV host argued that ‘small and petty’ Trump wanted rid of the penny because he’s ‘jealous of everyone’.
‘Trump has loyalty to no one, look what he did to his first Vice President,’ Behar said.
‘I mean it’s really – and he’s jealous of everyone. Now he’s getting rid of the penny, he’s even jealous of Lincoln. He’s so small and petty.’
Co-host Sunny Hostin chimed in to agree with Behar and said: ‘Small and petty, absolutely.’
Trump revealed in a post to Truth Social that he had asked the Treasury to stop making the coins after he attended the first half of the Super Bowl on Sunday.
‘For far too long the United States has minted pennies which literally cost us more than 2 cents,’ he wrote.
‘This is so wasteful! I have instructed my Secretary of the US Treasury to stop producing new pennies. Let’s rip the waste out of our great nations budget, even if it’s a penny at a time.’
Joy Behar claimed that President Donald Trump’s mission to abolish the penny is because he’s ‘jealous of Lincoln’
Behar claimed on ABC’s The View that ‘small and petty’ Trump wanted rid of the penny because he’s ‘jealous of everyone’
According to a 2024 report from the US Mint, it cost 3.69 cents to produce a penny, a process which lost the Treasury $179 million in 2023.
A nickel meanwhile cost around 13.78 cents to manufacture last year. The increased production cost is partly due to the price of raw materials.
The US Mint said it was the 19th year in a row that production cost had been above face value.
However, viewers who shared their opinions on X didn’t agree with Behar, with person writing: ‘What an idiot! It was Obama’s idea initially to get rid of the penny! She just flaps her gums without doing her homework!’
Another said: ‘The idea of axing the penny has been tossed around for years. They’re a pain in the a** and cost more to manufacture than they’re worth.’
‘Behar and Hostin are well-practiced experts on ‘Small’ and ‘Petty,’ one said.
Trump’s announcement is the latest plan designed to trim the fat on federal spending.
Trump announced the order for the Treasury to stop ‘producing new pennies’ on Truth Social after he attended the first half of the Super Bowl on Sunday
Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency has already unveiled plans to cut spending, including axing funding for USAID, American’s foreign aid agency.
DOGE claimed it saved $1 billion by slashing funding for DEI programs after Trump signed an executive order pulling federal funding for such initiatives.
The ambitious and ruthless approach, however, hasn’t been received well and many have criticized the administration’s approach.
A New York judge temporarily halted DOGE from accessing the US Treasury’s payment system.
District Judge Paul A. Engelmayer of the Southern District of New York granted a restraining order against the US Treasury Department and Trump on Saturday after 19 states, including New York, who filed the request, demanded it.
The emergency restraining order commanded the immediate halt of giving access to Treasury information outside of those employed with the department.
According to a 2024 report from the US Mint, it cost 3.69 cents to produce a penny, a process which lost the Treasury $179 million in 2023
This includes ‘all political appointees, special government employees, and government employees detailed from an agency outside the Treasury Department payment record, payment systems, or any other data systems maintained by the Treasury Department.’
It also ordered for any Treasury information obtained by those outside the department since January 20 – Inauguration Day – to be ‘immediately’ destroyed, which would include Musk’s DOGE workers.
Trump said he will instruct the head of DOGE to examine the Education Department for potential cuts next.
‘I ran on this, and the people want me to find this,’ Trump told Fox News host Bret Baier in a pre-taped interview before the Super Bowl.
He became the first ever president to attend the sporting event which saw the Philadelphia Eagles clinch a win over the Kansas City Chiefs 40-22.