Elisabeth Hasselbeck responds to Meghan McCain slamming prayer during coronavirus pandemic
Meghan McCain publicly slammed Elisabeth Hasselbeck for saying she was praying while also taking health and safety precautions amid the coronavirus outbreak that started in Wuhan, China, and has since infected millions and killed over 219,600 people worldwide, according to the Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center.
The dispute between the current and former co-hosts of ABC's talk show "The View" first began last month before federal quarantine guidelines and state lockdowns went into effect. Hasselbeck, who was once a co-host on the all-women talk show, was brought back on as a guest co-host. At the time of her appearance, there were only 1,215 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the United States and no states were on lockdown.
Hasselbeck shared her thoughts about the coronavirus at the time, saying: "I think there can be a fine line between what is taking precaution, and what is panic. Yes, we're going to take precautions, we're going to Purell, pray that God's got us in our tomorrows. We pray that this coronavirus is extinguished, that it stops in its tracks,” she said.
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Hosts Joy Behar and Sunny Hostin disagreed with Hasselbeck at the time and insisted that the government needed to do more.
Hasselbeck responded by saying, "I think we should prepare, I think we should pray. I'm not going to let coronavirus rule me and let it be an idol ... and I do think our leadership right now is pointing us to say, 'Hey, this is not a panic situation.' This is a precautionary situation, we're going to use Purell, wash our hands — we're going to be okay, guys."
Hasselbeck’s comments about prayer were slammed by secular progressives in the media along with McCain who said she respects Hasselbeck but insisted her comments were "dangerous." During a guest spot on Bravo network's “Watch What Happens Live” with far-left host Andy Cohen last week, McCain said Hasselbeck’s comments were "unfortunate."
"I took this virus seriously from the very beginning, and I thought a lot of this rhetoric was really dangerous," McCain said. "I don't need to co-host with her again, and it's unfortunate, because I've been a huge fan for a long time. Anybody who is screwing around with this virus and putting out misinformation, I just, I don't really have a lot of time for right now."
Hasselbeck responded to McCain's "angry" comments in a post on Instagram Saturday where she also defended her statements on "The View" last month.
"I don't like being misrepresented, so we're going to talk this out right here," the bestselling author said.
"So Meghan, number one, the day I came to ‘The View,’ it was, like, pre-social distancing orders. We were very early in the cycle with coronavirus.”
Hasselbeck said she will "always, always call on God" when "things get scary and when they're unknown."
"It's my first response and it will always be my best defense," she stressed.
Hasselbeck also responded to McCain in her Instagram Stories.
"Dear Meghan McCain, Please know I'm praying for you. I'm not sure why you are taking aim at me… I'm not sure why you have gone on the offense against me, but know I will continue to use prayer as my MAIN RESPONSE and my best defense. I'm not sure why you are judging me. We are all doing our best. Be nice. It's a lot more fun that way."
