Meghan McCain Trashes ‘Unhinged’ Environment at ‘The View’ in New Book

The View Panel (Credit: ABC)

Meghan McCain is revealing details about behind-the-scenes drama at The View in her new audiobook, including experiencing what she calls “toxic, direct and purposeful hostility.” 

In an interview with Variety to promote her audiobook titled “Bad Republican,” the TV personality claimed she was pigeonholed as the show’s only conservative. She also claimed Whoopi Goldberg’s comments from a heated 2019 episode still sting. 

When you come in as a host, you are a rotating peg on a carousel, and you’ll be in and out. It doesn’t breed an environment where you’re close. It feels siloed. There was no collaboration,” McCain said in the interview published Tuesday. 

You can watch the show and see that it’s unhinged and disorganized and rowdy. For me personally, it felt extremely isolating because of my political ideology. I was the only conservative on the show,” she continued.

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Besides being the sole Republican voice on the show after Abby Huntsman left, the 36-year-old said she didn’t feel welcomed by some of her co-hosts, including Goldberg.

Back in 2019, Goldberg and McCain had an icy exchange on air. During a segment in which they discussed then-President Donald Trump’s July 2019 phone call to the Ukraine, McCain asked, “Do you want to hear a conservative perspective on the show ever?”

“Girl, please stop talking!” Goldberg scolded her. “Please stop talking right now.”

“No problem. I won’t talk for the rest of the show,” McCain responded. Goldberg shot back, “I’m okay with that, if you’re going to behave like this.”

When speaking about that exchange, Variety reporter Ramin Setoodeh wrote McCain began to cry during their conversation.

It felt at a certain point, she [Goldberg] didn’t want me at the table anymore. It started with the ‘Girl, please stop talking!’ incident. I remember when it happened almost crying on the show. I never wanted to upset her,” McCain said. 

“It was horrible. To her credit, Whoopi apologized the next morning. I would apologize when I messed up. I f—ed up a lot on that show. [She starts to cry]. I don’t know why I’m getting emotional talking about this. A lot of this feels like such a waste. It was humiliating for me, and I’m a serious person. I felt like I was being talked to like I was a child and a brat,” she continued. 

She also discusses in the audiobook some tense moments with The View co-host and resident liberal Joy Behar.

McCain announced on July 1 her plans to exit the ABC daytime talk show after nearly four years. She first came on the show as a permanent co-host in October 2017. Her final episode with the show aired on Aug. 6.