The View is getting ready to name its permanent conservative co-host to finally replace Meghan McCain in a live announcement on Thursday. Former Trump White House communications director Alyssa Farah Griffin is reportedly the front runner, so perhaps in a bid to throw viewers off the scent, the long-running panel show welcomed back former conservative panelist Elisabeth Hasselbeck on Wednesday.
But not everyone was on board with the reunion.
Holding the show’s first conservative seat, Hasselbeck’s original tenure was marred with controversy, as she often butted heads with her co-hosts when it came to topics such a reproductive rights and the Iraq War. So the timing was certainly convenient that her appearance coincided with the landmark ballot measure in Kansas this week, in which voters turned out to reject an abortion ban in the state by a margin of 61 percent.
That voters in such a deep red state would overwhelmingly vote to protect abortion rights is extremely telling of the political climate, but as viewers quickly learned, it’s still a hill that Hasselbeck is willing to die on. According to The Wrap, the former Fox & Friends host repeatedly cited her religious beliefs to assert her stance on abortion, while also making the wild claim that she doesn’t force her religion onto people.
“I think oftentimes we get caught in the ‘right’ legislatively,” Hasselbeck said at one point. “Like, we’re getting caught in the law. Just because something is a right, doesn’t make it right.”
Fundamental human rights sure are a funny thing, like that!
The blonde also pushed the narrative that women with unwanted pregnancies should simply work with adoption agencies to place their children with families that want them, which is just wrong and problematic on so many levels we don’t even know where to start.
If this was a test by the honchos at ABC to see how well Elisabeth Hasselbeck would go over with viewers in 2022, let’s just say … she failed. Not surprisingly, fans sounded off on Twitter to express their disappointment and confusion.
Others pointed out that Hasselbeck’s omnipresent and ham-fisted religious beliefs are a bit hard to swallow. (She was also there to plug her new Christian children’s book.)
Unfortunately, for those hoping Hasselbeck won’t get the job, it should be noted that the 45-year-old’s competition, Farah Griffin, is also vehemently anti-choice.
But with most of the country on both sides of the political aisle now squarely on the side of abortion rights — would it honestly kill them to find a conservative co-host who supports a woman’s right to choose? They do exist, after all. With the recent SCOTUS ruling, these are not necessarily the voices anyone needs to be hearing right now.