In a hostile, lengthy exchange on ABC’s The View Friday, co-host Meghan McCain admitted frustration at being the sole Republican host on the show. Trying to explain to co-host Joy Behar that Trump supporters “don’t care” about the Michael Wolff book, or other controversies the media hypes about the White House, McCain gushed, “I have never felt more conservative and more defensive of the middle of the country than I have before I started working on this show.”
The segment started by talking about the news of the day, the salacious book about Trump’s White House by Michael Wolff, released today to much media hype. Amidst talking about how bad the claims in the book were for Trump, McCain argued that the good news of the administration is overshadowed by these scandals and leaks.
“There is actually positive news coming out. The Dow surpassed 25,000 points for the first time yesterday. Unemployment rates, falling to 6.8%. Companies are announcing the addition of new jobs,” she argued.
“Is he responsible for that though?” fellow co-host Sunny Hostin asked skeptically.
“Presidents always get to take responsibility. I think the Dow, yeah because I think it is an indicator of Wall Street's enthusiasm about Trump,” McCain answered quickly. She criticized the administration for not being good at positive spin and letting the media run with the Wolff book:
“If you had people that were good at this, you would be putting this out in the news. But instead, we're probably going to talk about Michael Wolff's book for the next three weeks,” she grumbled.
Guest co-host Ana Navarro agreed, blaming President Trump tweeting about the book as the reason for it’s hype:
One of the reasons we're talking about Michael Wolff is because President Trump is tweeting about Michael Wolff and because his lawyer is sending cease and desist letters to Michael Wolff and his publishers. They've really turned it into a media balloon. If they had shrugged their shoulders and said, ah, meh, whatever...
The panel then gossipped about how Trump had memory problems, according to the book Behar vehemently argued that this was proof Trump had “short term memory loss” to which Hostin added that it was a sign of Alzheimer’s.
“Do any of us have a medical degree?” McCain gushed. “We're not doctors. There's a lot of bigger problems and proverbial proof about things that are going on and diagnosing our president’s mental health is--” she argued, before being cut off by Behar.
“We're not diagnosing!” Behar defended herself. “A psychiatrist did this!” she added.
“We're not doctors. We're talk show hosts,” McCain stated bluntly.
But Hostin agreed with Behar.
“I don't think it's a stretch to -- when you know the fact that his father had Alzheimer's for six years and then died...there is an increased risk for getting Alzheimer’s if your father has it,” she stated.
After commercial break, the panel kept discussing the book and its impact. McCain downplayed its effect on anyone who supported Trump:
MCCAIN: The question is does his base care? Does his base care about all of us getting up in a tizzy. Rightfully so. This is a very salacious, juicy book. Do his supporters care? I was at home in Arizona, I know you don't like to hear this and be reminded that he has a dedicated base--
BEHAR: Why do you say we don’t want to hear it? I’d love to hear it.
MCCAIN: Ok great. I was in Cottonwood, Arizona, going to Walmart. Stopped at the gas station. There was a guy in a Make America Great Again hat. Go to that Walmart, Make America Great Again hats. A year out and his supporters--
BEHAR: That's 30% of the population
MCCAIN: He has a very dedicated base. Their base was enough to get him elected the first time. Will it be enough to get him elected a second time? I’m just trying to explain to you that he has a base of dedicated supporters and things that we, in the media care about, I don't know if necessarily the average person who sees the Dow up, who sees the unemployment rates at all-time low, if they care in the same way
HOSTIN: I give Americans more credit than that, Meghan. I think people are watching. I think people are reading. I think people are very concerned that he's playing chicken with Kim Jong-Un. I think people are concerned about their children.
MCCAIN: We're talking about his base, aren't we?
HOSTIN: His base is only 30% of the population. What about the other 70% of the population that are watching and listening? They do care about that.
Behar added to Hostin’s argument that the country shouldn’t care what Trump’s base thinks.
“Why do you feel comfortable with the minority dictating to the majority about what should happen in the country?” Behar charged McCain, to audience applause.
“I'm trying to constantly explain it,” McCain answered with frustration. “I think when you say things like, oh, I give the American people more credit. That means that everyone who voted for Trump, you're basically saying, oh, I give them no credit. These people who voted for Trump, because your values are not my values. You're not in the majority or whatever and--” she ranted before Hostin interrupted.
“If you voted for Trump and you're not concerned, I am concerned about that!” the liberal host gushed.
McCain explained she was a “Never Trumper” but after the election, she “chose” to try to understand Trump’s base:
“I choose to try to understand his base and why they're so angry. And why they're still sticking with him. He has the same approval rate on election day that he does now,” she replied.
But Behar put up a figurative middle finger to Trump supporters, gushing that Democrats should “forget those people:”
“The note for the Democrats is forget those people. You're never going to get them. Just concentrate on the 70% and get those people to the polls and save the country,” she stated bluntly.
Navarro then urged minorities and women to get out in vote in local elections and “make a difference,” by rejecting candidates like Roy Moore. McCain confronted the self-described Republican, saying she didn’t exactly sound like a Republican anymore. Navarro admitted she didn’t mind voting for Democrats:
MCCAIN to NAVARRO: Does that mean you prefer democratic candidates now? Just because I’m not a Trumper, doesn't mean I'm a Democrat.
NAVARRO: To Donald Trump? I would prefer a potted plant to Donald Trump. I would prefer a mannequin.
MCCAIN: I am talking about Senate elections
NAVARRO: Well yes. If I have to choose between a pedophile or Doug Jones whose a Democrat, I'll take the Democrat. Those are the choices we had.
After Behar accused McCain’s party of “no longer the party of Ronald Reagan and Eisenhower,” McCain gushed that working on The View made her more sympathetic to middle America and Trump’s base:
I have never felt more defensive of Trump's base. I have never felt more conservative. And I’ve never felt more defensive of the middle of the country than I have started working on this show.
Surprisingly Behar didn’t deny the show had an overwhelming liberal bias. “Of course. We're on the other side. Of course you're going to react to that, right?” she quipped.
“I don't mean that in negative way. I have a whole new understanding of what it feels like to sort of be lectured to about our values,” McCain added.
Co-host Paula Faris added that McCain was voicing the part of America that “feels marginalized,” before the conversation trailed off to another segment.
