Despite once vowing to never return to “The View” and calling the show a “sinking” ship early last year, Elisabeth Hasselbeck returned to guest host the ABC talk show once again this week. And, like in 2022, she was met with some irritation — this time directly from the audience, on Wednesday morning.
To kick off the day’s Hot Topics, the women discussed Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem’s most recent testimony at a House hearing, in which she defended her actions and words following the killing of Renée Good and Alex Pretti in Minnesota. During the conversation, host Sara Haines argued that Noem has taken immigration, a bipartisan issue, and turned it into something else entirely.
When Haines noted that ICE’s disapproval rating has only gotten higher, Hasselbeck cut in: “Because of the media!”
At that, the audience audibly reacted, though it was unclear whether it was a unanimous groan, or booing. You can decide for yourself, in the video above.
Haines immediately pushed back as well, and host Joy Behar looked both surprised and amused at the crowd’s reaction. But, this was only the first time the audience of “The View” pushed back on Hasselbeck in the episode. In the very next segment, when moderator Whoopi Goldberg agreed with Haines that she wouldn’t trust someone who claimed to be an ICE agent while covering their face, Hasselbeck cut in again.
“This is the party of masks!” she said. “You guys forced masks on everybody in the United States. Like, I don’t want to hear ‘You can’t see my face’ and, you know, I just can’t. I can’t. I love you, but I can’t.”
The comment was swiftly met with outrage from the audience once more, though Hasselbeck didn’t acknowledge it.
“The View” airs weekdays at 11 a.m. ET on ABC.
