Joy Behar has made a rather shocking observation about Donald Trump, warning that his latest move of deploying national troops could signal something far more alarming than just crime control. On Tuesday’s episode of The View, Behar suggested that Trump might use the National Guard as a tool to block the next election.
“This is a pretext to stop the next election. That’s what I think it is,” Behar declared during a heated discussion on the show. Her remark came after the Trump administration announced plans to send National Guard troops into several Democratic-run cities, including Washington, D.C., Memphis, and Chicago, as part of what it calls an effort to reduce crime.
The plan has already stirred outrage from local leaders. Illinois Governor JB Pritzker accused Trump of playing politics, saying the move was “using troops as political props and pawns.” He also added that Illinois officials weren’t informed in advance about the deployment.
Despite those objections, the administration seems determined. Troops from Texas reportedly arrived early Wednesday at an Army Reserve center outside Chicago, even as lawsuits and opposition from state Democrats intensified. Their precise mission remains unclear, though Trump officials insist the goal is to reinforce local law enforcement.
Republican Tennessee Governor Bill Lee defended the plan, saying Guard members would be deputized by the U.S. Marshals Service to “play a critical support role” — though no one has clearly defined what that role will entail.
BREAKING: ABC News doubles down on claims there won’t a next election:
WHOOPI GOLDBERG: They now believe they have carte blanche to do whatever they want to.
JOY BEHAR: That’s right.
GOLDBERG Yes, that’s what the feeling is.
BEHAR: And if they stop us from voting, that’s the… pic.twitter.com/tueHPyHRdK
— Nicholas Fondacaro (@NickFondacaro) October 7, 2025
On The View, co-host Alyssa Farah Griffin, who once served in the Trump administration, struck a different tone. Acknowledging that crime is indeed a problem, she still criticized the president’s approach.
“It’s not the way to address the problem if it even is as significant as it is,” she said. “There is crime in American cities, but the way to deal with it is to get the funding that you need for police, get the training that you need, and work with local officials.”
Behar, growing impatient, interrupted Griffin more than once to argue that Trump’s new tactics were less about safety and more about power. “And if they stop us from voting, that’s the one thing people have,” she told co-host Whoopi Goldberg, referring to the troops on American streets.
Goldberg responded calmly: “It’s the one thing that makes us different from lots of other countries. Our votes do count, I do know that they count.”
Behar quickly jumped back in: “If we were allowed to vote.”
To that, Goldberg replied, “I think people will figure out how to vote. One thing I believe I know about Americans is that they don’t want to be told what to do. They don’t want a dictatorship.”
Sara Haines, another co-host, then floated a different theory altogether. “I would say it might also be a distraction from the hearing that’s going on about the Epstein files,” she suggested, earning applause from the live studio audience. “Some things have come up, and AG Pam Bondi was dodging questions and attacking back.”
Her remark referred to ongoing scrutiny over the release of Justice Department records related to Jeffrey Epstein, the disgraced financier who died in custody in 2019. On September 2, more than 33,000 pages of Epstein-related files were unsealed, including the missing minute from his prison cell’s surveillance footage. The House Oversight Committee is still reviewing the massive trove of documents.
Meanwhile, frustration among Trump supporters has grown after the administration delayed releasing what many refer to as “The Epstein List”, a rumored roster of high-profile names allegedly tied to Epstein’s network. Some critics believe the new military deployments are meant to divert public attention from that controversy.
Trump, however, maintains that the move is about restoring order. He has repeatedly labeled Chicago “a hell hole” of crime, despite recent police data showing marked drops in several categories, including homicides.
With the Trump administration not giving in despite legal pressure regarding the deployment of troops, it now remains to be seen if Behar’s chilling warning indeed comes true.
