Elisabeth Hasselbeck is going back to her roots at The View and weighing in on a Hot Topic that made the table extra fired up yesterday (Jan. 14).
After panelist Joy Behar wondered how Carrie Underwood could really love her country if she performs at Donald Trump‘s Jan. 20 inauguration, she faced Hasselbeck’s wrath online.
The conservative commentator, who served as a View panelist from 2003 to 2013, posted on X yesterday, “That @TheView @JoyVBehar needs to simmer down off my friend @carrieunderwood” and posted a link to her Instagram Stories.
There, she shared a photo with the caption, “Joy — @carrieunderwood is an INCREDIBLE WOMAN. You could learn from her strength.”
During an appearance on Hannity hours later, Hasselbeck said Behar’s words on that day’s show were “nothing more than selfish personal publicity-gaining,” and accused The View co-host of wanting “to attach her name to Carrie Underwood’s name so that she maintains relevance because she know the ship is sinking,” per Entertainment Weekly.
Underwood will perform “America The Beautiful” and will be joined by the Armed Forces Chorus and the United States Naval Academy Glee Club, per USA TODAY. The American Idol alum shared a statement will the outlet confirming her plans to perform at the inauguration and explaining her choice to do so.
“I love our country and am honored to have been asked to sing at the Inauguration and to be a small part of this historic event,” she said in her statement. “I am humbled to answer the call at a time when we must all come together in the spirit of unity and looking to the future.
Behar was not impressed by Underwood’s choice to sing at Trump’s ceremony, suggesting her actions normalized the president elect.
“I wouldn’t do it — even though I cannot sing,” Behar said on yesterday’s View. “I would not normalize him. She says, ‘I love our country.’ How do you love your country and support and normalize somebody who was a convicted felon, who really wants to destroy the country, in my opinion?”
She added, “I don’t understand how you say you love your country at the same time as you normalize this convicted felon.”
Her words prompted Alyssa Farah Griffin, a lifelong Republican who voted Democrat for the first time when she cast a ballot for Vice President Kamala Harris in November, to reply, “Respectfully, a lot of my family voted for Trump. They love the country and voted for him. I think people make these decisions for a lot of reasons.”
Behar responded, “OK, fine. And I would not be the person to say don’t do it because I believe in free speech and everything about it. I personally would not do it. No one’s asked me, but that’s another story.”
The View airs weekdays at 11/10c on ABC.
The post Elizabeth Hasselbeck Accuses Former ‘View’ Colleague Joy Behar Of Grasping For Relevance After She Criticized Carrie Underwood For Performing At Trump Inauguration appeared first on Decider.
