'The View' Defends Stephen Colbert Over Trump Joke: President Was Much Cruder

The Hot Topic on the table Thursday morning: the backlash Stephen Colbert is facing over a Donald Trump joke he made on Tuesday night's "Late Show." While many are calling for the comedian to be fired for saying "the only thing [the President's] mouth is good for is being Vladimir Putin's c--k holster," the ladies of the morning show defended him.

"The same people who are upset with him were not upset about that 'Access Hollywood' tape," said a fired up Joy Behar. "He's a comedian, the President of the United States was much cruder in what he said that day and the implication being a sexual assault. This is a joke and it is not a homophobic joke, I don't think. It's vulgar joke, for sure. But we have first amendment rights in this country. You don't like it, move to Russia."

Though Sarah Haines said she could understand why people were upset, Behar reiterated her point that she didn't believe Colbert's remarks were homophobic.

"I don't think that's what he meant at all. You're on your knees and you're ..." she said, before Whoopi Goldberg cut her off, saying, "I don't think you can go much further than that!"

"You're at his mercy," Behar added, sidestepping any vulgar language on daytime TV. "You're giving him ... people know what I'm talking about."

Haines then asked why people "always jump to firing someone" online.

"Can I tell you exactly why? Because it gives people a sense of power, to get people fired based on what you say. I know this very well," responded Goldberg.

"That's such a cowardly response," Jedediah Bila said of those asking for Colbert's head. "I didn't love the joke, mostly because I didn't find it funny, I think he's a better comedian than that joke. [But] you're your own person, change the channel, you don't have to get someone fired."

"People have to be able to say whatever they want to say. They did it about Sarah Palin, George W. Bush, President Obama. It happens with every person in power," she continued. "Sometimes the jokes were crude and if you didn't like it, you didn't watch it."

Sunny Hostin then doubled down on Behar's assertion that Trump's said much worse.

"We're in this age where we have this degradation of our social discourse and I think the person that's led the way is Donald Trump," she explained. "During the campaign, he talked about Megyn Kelly coming blood out of her whatever, he called Hillary Clinton that 'nasty woman' and none of it was funny. I think it was shocking to me that people were so offended by what [Colbert] said when they're not offended the President of the United States continues to be so vulgar."

"In America, if you read the Constitution, it does say you're allowed to say what you want to say," Goldberg said, closing the conversation. "That keeps us all fair and balanced. You can do it, I can do it and we're good."

Colbert addressed the backlash on Wednesday night, coming short of apologizing for what he said. "I had a few choice insults for the President in return. I don't regret that," he explained. "I believe he can take care of himself. I have jokes; he has the launch codes. So, it's a fair fight."