Elisabeth Hasselbeck kicked off her week on The View with a promise to viewers that “civil discourse is not dead.” But her week-long stint back on the ABC talk show proved to be anything but civil, as her passionate takes in favor of Kristi Noem’s ICE crackdown and the war in Iran sparked several clashes on the show, begging the question of whether Hasselbeck could be just what The View needs as it tackles yet another Trump presidency.
Hasselbeck is one of several celebrity guests tapped to fill in during Alyssa Farah Griffin’s maternity leave. The comparison is almost night and day; while Griffin brings valid political criticism to the show as a former White House staffer, Hasselbeck’s penchant for political theater raised the temperature just enough to remind viewers what they’ve been missing in this current era of The View. Griffin, who has become an outspoken critic of many of Trump’s policies, is typically on the same page with her co-hosts when it comes to many of the hot-button topics discussed on the show. And even if she does disagree, the debates don’t reach the same level of drama as when Hasselbeck points fingers on The View.
Could Hasselbeck be gunning for Griffin’s job as the show’s resident conservative?
Last week, the former View host came in swinging. Hasselbeck proved she’s not afraid to disagree with Whoopi Goldberg and her cadre of co-hosts, unlike Griffin and some of the other guest hosts who have recently joined the show. Sure, Griffin pushes back on certain topics, but she seems more interested in keeping the peace with her coworkers than in being right.
Even Savannah Chrisley, an avid Trump supporter who spoke in his favor at the RNC, appeared almost intimidated to push back too much against the seasoned hosts. And when she would, she spread blatant misinformation (like falsely claiming Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is the Democrats’ pick for the 2028 election) that they, fortunately, pushed back on.
Notably, Hasselbeck went toe-to-toe with Goldberg and Sunny Hostin nearly everyday last week before returning the very next day to sing their praises and promise the crowd they’re like family. She’s a bit unhinged, but she does bring a missing element that the show has been missing.
That’s the thing with Hasselbeck. Her value to The View can only be measured by how much the other hosts are willing to parry with her. She certainly brings a new perspective to the show as a bleeding heart conservative, but the show’s strongest moments that week were when Hostin pushed back. Hasselbeck has a habit of engaging in bad faith arguments and gotcha moments that aren’t necessarily productive for these kinds of conversations – and frankly, can be dangerous. While it certainly makes for good television, it’s a divisive tactic that won’t appeal to everybody.
The show runs the risk of alienating fans – and even its co-hosts – by hiring her back on full-time. A glimpse at the comment section of any of their social media posts shows fans are either happy to see her back, or they’re vowing to never watch the show again if she stays on. She’s unabashedly controversial. Just this week, she threw a low blow when Whoopi Goldberg complained of ICE hiding their faces with masks when detaining immigrants, earning groans from the audience.
“This is the party of masks. You guys forced masks on everybody in the United States,” she said with a scoff, referring to the COVID-19 mask mandates. “Like I don’t want to hear, ‘You can’t see my face.’ I just can’t. I love you, but I can’t.” (For the record, Trump was in office during the pandemic.)
Compared to Hasselbeck, Griffin certainly seems like a safer option with her softball opinions. Having Hasselbeck on the show gives the women something to finally work against, as opposed to always being in agreement with each other before changing the topic to whatever dating or internet trend they’re going to talk about next.
But if having Hasselbeck back on the show comes at the cost of one of the other co-hosts, it’s not worth it. We can’t ignore that her previous stint on The View led directly to Rosie O’Donnell quitting the show after they debated the war in the Middle East on the air in an iconic split-screen moment.
At this point, The View cannot risk losing Griffin or, even worse, Hostin. Both hosts offer valuable insight thanks to their careers in politics. The audience deserves more than just Joy Behar’s broad speculation or Hasselbeck’s White House talking points.
And if the implication of having Hasselbeck on the show is that she’s there to argue, there’s no telling if the other hosts would be willing to debate her day in and day out for long.
The View airs on weekdays at 11/10c on ABC.
