“The View” co-host Alyssa Farah Griffin said she “can’t think of a dumber fight to pick ahead of the midterms” while discussing the recent fractures between the Trump administration and Christian Americans on Thursday.
The ABC series’ panelists addressed not only the ongoing war of words between the Pope and Vice President JD Vance this week, but also Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth’s frequent use of Bible rhetoric while describing the war in Iran as well as President Trump’s AI-generated photos of himself both as and with Jesus. Before the full conversation could even begin, Joy Behar expressed her dismay over Trump, Vance and Hegseth’s behavior, remarking, “These people are a joke.”
Vance, notably, said that he thinks the Pope should be careful about weighing in on matters of theology and public policy, which was a remark that Griffin found puzzling. “I’m a mere Protestant, so I wouldn’t dare to know what the Pope’s job is, but I think he’s allowed to weigh in on theology,” the “View” co-host said.
“Talking about it from a political and a PR perspective, I can’t think of a dumber fight to pick ahead of the midterms than with the Christian voting base,” Griffin added. “Evangelicals are never leaving Trump. They see their politics and religion so deeply tied together. They are with him. They will be ’til the very end of his presidency. But the Catholics are actually the largest swing voting block in the country of a religious community.”
VANCE SAYS POPE SHOULD 'BE CAREFUL' DISCUSSING THEOLOGY: As the president posts another religiously-charged image and his administration tells the Pope to stay in his lane, 'The View' co-hosts discuss. pic.twitter.com/yQs4HCjPEB
— The View (@TheView) April 16, 2026
Griffin further noted that Trump, Vance and Hegseth’s recent actions have put their administration at risk of losing the support of Catholic voters.
“While they’re with Donald Trump on issues like opposing abortion, they’re also very pro-immigrant, pro-refugees,” she explained. “There’s strong opposition to the tactics around immigration enforcement. So right now, heading into midterms that already look really bleak for Republicans, this is the last fight that you want to be picking. It makes zero sense to me.”
Fellow ABC co-host Sara Haines, meanwhile, took major issue with the Trump administration’s continued interest in blurring the lines between religion and state when it suits them.
“One of the most egregious things as a person of faith is watching when religion is weaponized in a way that feels like cherry-picked and a bit of a bastardization of the very thing so many of us try to live by,” she shared. “I also don’t like when religion and politics merges. I like the separation of church and state for this reason. I happen to be a believer of the faith they’re speaking of, but this nation is so diverse and multifaceted that there’s danger whenever you do this. I don’t want to live in a theocracy.”
“We’ve seen how that plays out in other places on the globe. I would prefer to keep these two separate, especially from a group of people that are manipulating and guiding as false prophets,” Haines concluded. “It’s just disturbing to me to watch it happen.”
