Another prominent Democrat, a presidential hopeful, slams Trump and SAVE Act

Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear on 'The View.'

Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, a Democrat whose name has been tossed around as a possible candidate for president in 2028, appeared on The View Monday and criticized the SAVE Act, a Republican-proposed piece of legislation that, among other things, would require American voters to show photo ID in order to vote in federal elections. Beshear also tore into the Trump administration's crackdown on illegal immigration, calling for Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem to be fired.

Whoopi Goldberg leaned right into the presidential contender possibility while introducing Beshear and, although he hasn't announced his candidacy, the governor didn't deny that he has plans to mount a White House run in 2028. The View co-hosts quickly steered the conversation toward one of the top Democrat talking points of late: Opposition to the SAVE Act. Sara Haines asked Beshear about Trump's support for the SAVE Act and what he would do to ensure Kentucky will carry out "independent and fair elections."

"This president does show you who he is and says the quiet part out loud," Beshear said, declaring, "We're not going to let him mess with our elections." Beshear didn't provide any examples for how he would do so or reveal any ambition to strengthen election security.

Co-host Alyssa Farah Griffin then pointed out the broad popular support for voter ID laws among both Democrats and Republicans, and asked Beshear where he stands on the issue.

"Well, I consider myself pragmatic," Beshear responded. "I think that we can agree that election security is an important thing, but when you complete policies that are so onerous, you push people out that have the right to vote, who should be able to register." Beshear added that he thinks any policy surrounding voter identification should be "reasonable." He answered the question with a question: "What do we want the end game to be?"

Republican lawmakers for years have called for an "end game" that ensures only American citizens vote in elections, in an effort to minimize the possibility of fraud. Even though polling shows the general public finds voter ID laws to be reasonable and popular, Democrats have staunchly resisted any federal plan to implement stronger security measures at voting sites.

Beshear didn't address any of the core issues proposed in the Save Act itself, appearing more focused on maintaining the status quo in Kentucky and elsewhere in the nation. Beshear is the third prominent Democrat in two days to appear in the national media and rail against the SAVE Act, after Adam Schiff and Hakeem Jeffries spent Sunday morning on news talk shows deriding the SAVE Act as a "voter suppression law," and making false statements to bolster their claims.

Beshear's criticism of the Trump administration didn't stop there. When prompted by Ana Navarro to weigh in on ICE operations in Minnesota, the Kentucky governor demanded Trump abandon one of the chief mandates American voters elected him to carry out.

"Every ICE agent should be withdrawn from every city and every community they’re in," Beshear said. "This organization has to be reformed from the top down, and Secretary Noem needs to be fired."

Watch his full appearance on The View below.