Elisabeth Hasselbeck confronts Meghan McCain over ‘aggressive’ coronavirus remarks: 'Turn off the meanness'
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Elisabeth Hasselbeck is firing back at Meghan McCain for calling her perspective on the coronavirus pandemic “dangerous.”
On Saturday, Hasselbeck, who co-hosted The View from 2003 to 2013, called out McCain on Instagram after her Wednesday appearance on Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen. During the show, McCain called Hasselbeck’s views on using prayer during the pandemic “unfortunate and dangerous.”
“What were your thoughts on Elisabeth Hasselbeck co-hosting The View and saying we should ‘pray the virus away?’” asked Cohen about the March 11 episode, reading a viewer tweet.
“Yeah — somebody actually sent me a screenshot of my face when she said that. I took this virus seriously from the very beginning and I thought a lot of this rhetoric was really dangerous and I think it’s really, really unfortunate and dangerous that she said that,” McCain, 35, who has co-hosted The View since 2017, told Cohen.
McCain added, “And 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’s screwing around with this virus and putting out misinformation, I don’t really have a lot of time for right now.”
Related: Meghan McCain Never Wants to Co-Host With Elisabeth Hasselbeck
On Saturday, Hasselbeck was quick to point out that she had been misquoted, writing on Instagram, “Golly...apparently @meghanmccain is tossing out some anger my way. Meghan — I am going to call you and handle this in the best socially distanced direct manner possible — but hey girl — we are all just doing our best, and I don’t know why you are taking an opportunity to be so aggressive toward me during such a stressful time.”
Hasselbeck, 42, said she’s always been “a vocal defender” of the McCain family (Senator John McCain died in 2018). “I sure did not see this one coming,” she wrote. Calling for peace, the mother-of-three advised McCain to “get your quotes right,” adding, “I never said I had the power to pray COVID away.”
Stating that her appearance on The View was before New York ramped up social distancing and the closure of non-essential businesses, Hasselbeck said she was misconstrued.
“My quote was that I am going to pray and Purell,” she wrote on Instagram. “PRAYER will ALWAYS be my FIRST RESPONSE AND MY BEST DEFENSE....this is all hard and stressful enough — turn off the meanness as the world needs more togetherness and kindness. I’m praying today that you can lay off throwing the social darts at me. I am not sure why you decided to do this. I’m a momma on my knees in prayer like many others — let’s get back in the same side....”
Hasselbeck posted an accompanying video in which she said, “I don’t like being misrepresented, so we’re going to talk this out right here.”
On March 11, Hasselbeck told the panel, “....There can be a fine line between what is precaution...and what is panic. And so I think a lot of it has to be decided — yes, we’re going to take precautions and we’re going to, Purell. Pray that God’s got us in our tomorrows. We pray that this coronavirus is extinguished, that it’s stopped in its tracks. And I love the fact that we can identify that this is precautionary.”
Infections and death are serious, she emphasized, “But I also think we’re not — we shouldn’t be in a state of panic because what we’re doing, and taking cues from our president, is taking early, strong, bold action” to prevent the spread.
Later, Hasselbeck said, “...I think we should prepare, I think we should pray. I’m not going to let coronavirus rule me...I’m going to use Purell right now,” while reaching for a bottle of the hand sanitizer.
McCain cut in to say, “I think both things can be true...we can have a robust economy and you’re 100 percent right, we are the country I would say is the most capable of handling this than any other country” however she criticized President Trump for downplaying the pandemic despite the rising death and infection rates.
Hasselbeck also addressed McCain on her Instagram Stories writing, “I am not sure why you are taking aim at me,” “I Purell and pray. If that seems dangerous to you, I’m sorry” and “Be nice. It’s a lot more fun that way.”
As of Saturday, McCain had not respond to Hasselbeck’s claims on social media.
For the latest coronavirus news and updates, follow along at https://news.yahoo.com/coronavirus. According to experts, people over 60 and those who are immunocompromised continue to be the most at risk. If you have questions, please reference the CDC’s and WHO’s resource guides.
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