Hasselbeck made “The View” audience gasp twice, including when she compared ICE agents’ masks to COVID pandemic mandates: “This is the party of masks.”

Elisabeth Hasselbeck tells The View ‘all lives matter,’ slams COVID masks ‘forced on everyone’ in tense on-air clash

Hasselbeck made "The View" audience gasp twice, including when she compared ICE agents' masks to COVID pandemic mandates: "This is the party of masks."

Joey Nolfi is a senior writer at *. *Since 2016, his work at EW includes *RuPaul's Drag Race* video interviews, Oscars predictions, and more.

EW's editorial guidelines

on March 4, 2026 2:53 p.m. ET

Leave a Comment

Joy Behar and Elisabeth Hasselbeck clash on 'The View'. Credit:

Conservative commentator Elisabeth Hasselbeck elicited several gasps from *The View*'s live studio audience after the guest cohost made controversial statements about immigration policies, ICE agents, and COVID masks during a heated clash Wednesday on the long-running talk show.

The episode began with Whoopi Goldberg leading a conversation about Homeland Security Sec. Kristi Noem, who recently had a performance review that saw representatives from both sides of the political aisle criticize her as part of the Senate Judiciary Committee's overview.

Joy Behar kicked things off by observing that it's "good to see Republicans going after her" during the proceedings, as politicians grilled Noem on her agency's handling of anti-ICE protests — particularly in Minnesota, where immigration officers killed two civilians, Renée Nicole Good and Alex Pretti. She also referenced Noem's previously publicized killing of her own family dog.

"Listen, I love dogs. I love people. I think all lives matter — to God — and we're in uncommon times, so we need to have uncommon sense about things like this," Hasselbeck chimed in, bringing up her own research she said supported the notion that Noem is succeeding on border security.

Sunny Hostin and Elisabeth Hasselbeck clash on 'The View'.

In a stunning move, Hasselbeck pointed out hypocrisy among her peers: "We need a strong border, especially now with our current global situation. I believe that you may say you don't want border control and you're against ICE, but I actually don't believe you in your daily lives. How many people in the audience here had to go through security to get here?"

The audience then raised their hands in response, with Hasselbeck asserting, "This is an authorized audience. They had to go through security to get through the border to get right here to just hear us talk. We need strong borders more than ever right now."

Legal expert and former federal prosecutor Sunny Hostin pushed back, invoking the deaths of both Good and Pretti, who "were murdered" under Noem's watch.

"I agree. That was a murder, as were those killed by illegal immigrants," Hasselbeck said. "I'm not dismissive, I just said all lives matter."

Noem earlier alleged that "officers attempted to disarm [Pretti], but the armed suspect acted violently," which she said forced the officer who killed him to fire "defensive shots" at Pretti while he was swarmed by a group of agents after filming them and attempting to assist another person the officers pushed to the ground.

Elisabeth Hasselbeck condemns Megyn Kelly's comments on dead soldiers

Joy Behar, Elisabeth Hasselbeck stay silent on past drama amid 'The View' reunion

***Get your daily dose of entertainment news, celebrity updates, and what to watch with our EW Dispatch newsletter.*****

Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller called Pretti a "would-be assassin" and alleged that he "tried to murder federal law enforcement" in the moment, despite footage showing Pretti standing near officers holding only a cell phone, with one agent spraying a substance at Pretti while his back was turned.

Hostin doubled down on her assertion, telling Hasselbeck that Noem "should be impeached" and "should lose her job" over the incidents.

The cohosts then attempted to speak over each other, with Goldberg advising, "Hold on. Hold on, baby," when Hasselbeck got heated.

When Sara Haines cited her research that pointed toward an increasing number of people who "disapprove of ICE," Hasselbeck clapped back, "Because of the media." *The View*'s audience gasped at the observation, which Haines strongly countered.

"Elisabeth, no, no, no, what I would say is, as a woman, and you should be able to relate to this point, a man comes at me with a mask and a gun, I'm taught instinctively to fight or flight," Haines told Hasselbeck. "The way [immigration raids have] been carried out is the problematic part."

'The View' cohosts debate Hot Topics with Elisabeth Hasselbeck.

Hasselbeck held firm. "I also believe we have a God of borders and a nation of borders for good reason. I hate the fact that people are dying in this. My heart actually bleeds for this," she said, before bringing up Laken Riley, a young woman who was killed by a Venezuelan migrant. She also attempted to blame Barack Obama and Joe Biden for current immigration woes, before Goldberg stepped in to shut her down.

"Let's take Biden and Obama out of here," Goldberg said as the audience cheered. "Because Joe Biden, I remember, during the speech to the nation, said we have a good border plan that is bipartisan."

Hasselbeck told Goldberg that the plan "failed," to which Goldberg responded, "No, it didn't fail, the Republicans were told by [Trump], 'Don't do this, block this,' so that's the first thing," she said. "More than anything, nobody wants anyone murdered."

Later, when the show returned from a commercial break, Hostin pointed out statistics that show immigrants are "five times less likely to commit crimes than Americans," as Goldberg again voiced concerns over how masked ICE agents have conducted raids on immigrants.

"There have been efforts made by both sides to figure out how to do this. This is not the way, to round people up the way that they do," she said. "If somebody comes at me with a mask on..."

Hasselbeck interrupted her to exclaim, "This is the party of masks. You forced masks on everybody in the United States," referencing the COVID-19 pandemic that saw health officials recommend wearing masks in public spaces to prevent the global spread of a deadly virus. "I love you, but I can't."

"A public health crisis is a little bit different," Behar quipped, and Goldberg summarized her thoughts by clarifying, "I'm talking about people walking down the street with their kids on the way to school" being taken away by agents wearing masks to preserve their anonymity.

Elisabeth Hasselbeck on 'The View' in 2019.

Lou Rocco/ABC/Getty

Though the first two *View* segments were heated, an additional Hot Topics discussion led to more lighthearted chatter among the cohosts. After speaking about actress Sienna Miller's recent comments about age gaps in celebrity relationships, Goldberg sent the audience into a fit of laughter when she pretended to pass out from boredom during the chat.

Wednesday's heated exchanges came after Hasselbeck, who was a permanent cohost from 2003-2013, rejoined *The View* to fill in for regular conservative panelist Alyssa Farah Griffin. Hasselbeck previously publicly criticized both the talk show and Behar, calling them both "sinking" entities after Behar criticized Carrie Underwood for performing at Trump's second inauguration in January 2025.

*The View *airs weekdays on ABC.

Original Article on Source

Source: “AOL Talk”