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This week, Abby Huntsman made a return appearance on The View, where she weighed in on current Secretary of Defense, Pete Hegseth, who also happens to be her former colleague.
The discussion was initiated by Whoopi Goldberg, who addressed President Donald Trump’s recent remarks concerning the U.S. military actions in Iran. Trump attributed the responsibility for these strikes to Hegseth, a move Huntsman described as “typical Trump behavior.”
“Trump tends to avoid taking responsibility for anything,” Huntsman, serving as a guest co-host, remarked.
Joy Behar chimed in, “Except when things are going well—then he’s all for taking credit.”
Huntsman elaborated further, “Consider Kristi Noem’s situation. Trump is likely worried that if oil prices don’t drop, it could negatively impact the midterm elections. For Pete, this situation is seen as commendation, but if the outcome is unfavorable, it spells trouble for Hegseth.”
Sunny Hostin noted that Huntsman knows Hegseth, which The View alum confirmed.
“I know Pete. I worked on a show with Pete,” she said, referring to Fox & Friends. “And I praise him for his service, and he’s a smart guy, and he was a perfect Fox News host.”
Hostin seized the opportunity to ask Huntsman if she thinks Hegseth is “a perfect Secretary of Defense.” Huntsman didn’t immediately answer Hostin’s question directly, but proceeded to argue that “the cartoons and the movie memes” from the Department of Defense “have gotta stop.”
“When you come from a military family, this is not a game,” she said. “They talk about it with the high-fives, Trump at the rally saying, ‘Should we keep going? Should we keep going?’ Coming from a military family, it’s really—there are people that are dying, that are losing their lives.”
Hostin reiterated, “Do you think he’s qualified to be the Secretary of Defense?”
Huntsman replied, “I don’t hope for the demise of this country and the people that are in charge right now, so I pray for the best. I am very concerned, because the way they are playing this game—”
Hostin interjected, “But do you think he’s qualified to be the Secretary of Defense?”
Huntsman continued, “The way they are playing this game is like checkers, when the rest of the world is playing chess.”
Goldberg chimed in, “Bad checkers.”
While Huntsman felt that the U.S. “is very good at getting into wars” in the Middle East but “also very bad at getting out of wars,” Hostin continued asking Huntsman if she thinks Hegseth is qualified to hold his current post.
Behar quipped, “Do you want me to save you from Sunny?”
Hunstman explained that while “presidents usually pick people in these roles that are experts at what they do,” Trump “picks people that he knows will agree with him and do what he says.” Sara Haines eventually jumped in and said that “Pete Hegseth is not qualified to run the Department of Defense.” However, Huntsman cited her personal connections to the military for her own response.
“I don’t want what’s going on to fail because I have people that I love that are serving this country and there are a lot of families that do,” she said. “I pray they get this right. The decisions that have been made, I am very, very concerned.”
After Haines and Hostin said their piece about the current state of affairs, with the latter telling Huntsman that Hegseth is “unqualified for his job,” Huntsman clarified that she’s “not here defending” Hegseth.
“By the way, I don’t think Pete’s qualified for the job,” she admitted.
Hostin exclaimed, “Thank you!”
Huntsman added, “That’s not at all what I’m saying at all. That’s not at all what I’m saying. But what I’m saying is I love this country. I don’t want it to fail.”
The View airs on weekdays at 11/10c on ABC.