As the conservative panelist on The View, Meghan McCain has actually been following science and early warnings when it comes to the coronavirus outbreak. That’s why she had no time for her predecessor Elisabeth Hasselbeck, 42, during her March 11 return to the show where she said Americans needed to “pray” that the coronavirus got “extinguished” somehow. Meghan, 35, appeared on Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen on April 22 and addressed being at the table when Elisabeth made the controversial statement during the panel’s Hot Topics.
Andy — who himself spent two weeks in quarantine battling the COVID-19 virus — read off a question from a viewer who asked, “What were your thoughts on Elisabeth Hasselbeck co-hosting The View and saying we should ‘pray the virus away?'” Meghan gave a sarcastic and drawn out “Yeah…” saying that, “Somebody sent me a screenshot of my face when she said that,” because Meghan looked at Elisabeth in shock and disbelief.
“I took this virus seriously from the very beginning and I thought a lot of this rhetoric was really dangerous. I think it’s really really unfortunate and dangerous that she said that, and I don’t need to co-host together with her again. And it’s unfortunate cause I’ve been a huge fan for a long time. Anyone who is screwing around with this virus and putting out misinformation, I really don’t have a lot of time for right now,” Meghan continued.
Elisabeth appeared on her former show The View on March 11 and downplayed how devastating the coronavirus outbreak could be. “There can be a fine line between what is taking precaution and what is panic,” she said. “Yes, we’re going to take precautions, we’re going to Purell, pray that God’s got us in our tomorrows, right? We pray that this coronavirus is extinguished, that it’s stopped in its tracks.”
She also tried to praise President Donald Trump‘s “leadership” in the coronavirus battle, to which Joy Behar jumped in to say, “He’s told us nothing of any importance. He says it’s no big deal.” Elisabeth later said, “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. I’m going to use Purell.”
Meghan finally got a chance to speak and brought up that, “I think part of the problem is Trump keeps telling Americans ‘stay calm. It will just go away. It is really working out.’ But the death rate and cases go up and people are saying because the testing kits aren’t here in a way that they should be, that there’s probably more cases than we realize.” The Arizona native added that, “I do think that if people get really scared and people start panicking cause they’re not secure about what’s happening, then I do think things could get a whole lot worse.” To which Elisabeth snapped back, “Fear and isolation are tools of the enemy,” in an odd response.