Joy Behar Suggests Trump Will Use ICE Protests To Declare Martial Law, Cancel Midterms

“The View” co-host Joy Behar suggested that President Donald Trump may be hoping ongoing protests against Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) escalate into widespread chaos, allowing him to declare martial law and cancel the 2026 midterm elections.

Behar made the remarks during a discussion about demonstrations against ICE taking place in several cities, including Minneapolis, following the fatal shooting of left-wing activist Renee Good earlier this month.

“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 on the show.

She further warned viewers to remain vigilant, insisting Trump fears losing control of Congress. “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.”

Co-host Whoopi Goldberg struck a more measured tone, urging protesters to understand their rights while avoiding unlawful behavior. “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.”

Since President Trump returned to office, ICE has undertaken an unprecedented hiring surge, more than doubling its workforce by adding roughly 12,000 officers and agents in a matter of months as part of a broader push to boost immigration enforcement capacity. Multiple reports have described a sharp increase in applications, strong internal morale, and renewed enthusiasm among officers.

Goldberg cautioned demonstrators against engaging in confrontations with law enforcement. “You don’t have the right to be a bonehead, OK?” she said. “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.’”

She also cited guidance from the American Civil Liberties Union for those participating in protests, advising them to think carefully about what they say, keep their hands visible, avoid running, and refrain from touching officers.

The segment followed Goldberg’s decision earlier in the week to walk back comments she previously made suggesting ICE agents were “violent criminals.”

Behar has repeatedly raised concerns about Trump and elections in the past. In October, she suggested the deployment of National Guard troops to U.S. cities could be used as a pretext to interfere with future elections. “This is a pretext to stop the next election — that’s what I think,” she said at the time. “And if they stop us from voting, that’s the one thing people have.”

Goldberg responded during that earlier exchange by emphasizing the importance of voting in the United States.

The comments come as federal agents and protesters have clashed in Minneapolis, with demonstrations intensifying near the site where Good was fatally shot.

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