“The View” co-host Joy Behar said Tuesday that President Donald Trump was hoping for protests to cause chaos so that he could declare martial law and cancel the 2026 midterm elections.

“I worry that Trump is looking for this kind of pandemonium to go on, like you just described, so he can declare martial law and also cancel the midterms,” Behar said as the co-hosts discussed protests against Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) across the country. 

The co-hosts discussed the ongoing protests against ICE in cities such as Minneapolis following the fatal shooting of Renee Good in the city.

“Watch out for this guy!” Behar said. “Because he’s worried — he even said, ‘If the Democrats take Congress next time, I will be impeached,’ which means that he could be convicted and sent to jail. He does not want that to happen.”

‘THE VIEW’ CO-HOST JOY BEHAR SAYS A CONSERVATIVE WOMAN COULD WIN THE PRESIDENCY ‘FASTER THAN A LIBERAL’

Joy Behar said Tuesday that President Trump was hoping to declare martial law and cancel the 2026 midterm elections during “The View” on Jan. 16, 2026. (Gary Gershoff/Getty Images; Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

Co-host Whoopi Goldberg told viewers to know their rights while protesting.

“Let us be very clear. Not all ICE agents are out of control. Not all of them,” Goldberg said. “Some of them actually do know what they’re doing, and they’re having a hard time because they don’t recognize the agency they’ve worked for, for years.”

“So there’s a lot going on. But keep in mind, you don’t have the right to be a bonehead, OK?” she continued. “You can’t spit on people — people don’t like it. But you do have the right to say, ‘We don’t like what we see, we’re going to protest.’” 

Goldberg cited the American Civil Liberties Union’s (ACLU) advice for protesters: “Listen, think carefully about what you say, keep your hands where the officers can see them. Don’t run or touch an officer.”

On Monday, Goldberg walked back a claim she made suggesting ICE agents were “violent criminals.”

CELEBRITY ANTI-ICE PINS AT GOLDEN GLOBES SPARK MIXED REACTIONS ONLINE AFTER RENEE GOOD FATAL SHOOTING

Whoopi Goldberg at the “Kiss of the Spider Woman” New York Screening held at The Shed on Oct. 6, 2025, in New York, New York. (Aurora Rose/Variety via Getty Images)

Behar has previously claimed that Trump was sending National Guard troops to U.S. cities to stop future elections, suggesting Americans may not be allowed to vote.

During an episode of “The View” in October, Behar said, “This is a pretext to stop the next election — that’s what I think.”

Behar continued, “And if they stop us from voting, that’s the one thing people have.”

CLICK HERE FOR MORE COVERAGE OF MEDIA AND CULTURE

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

Goldberg responded, “It’s the one thing that makes us very different from lots of other countries. Our votes – they do count. I do know that they count.”