Meghan McCain to exit ‘The View,’ Black Twitter rejoices
The conservative co-host joined the show in October 2017 and has frequently clashed with the show's liberal hostesses.
After four years on the long-running daytime talk show, conservative co-host Meghan McCain is exiting The View, announcing her departure on Thursday morning’s episode.
The 36-year-old daughter of late Arizona Sen. John McCain joined The View in October 2017, filling in the conservative spot on the show after Jedediah Bila‘s departure. From Bila to Elisabeth Hasselback, the sole conservative voice at the View table has historically ruffled the most feathers, and The Maverick’s babygirl has been no exception.
Whether clashing with political candidates or with veteran The View co-hosts Joy Behar and Whoopi Goldberg, McCain’s positions and views rarely wavered on the series, and she found herself trending on Twitter consistently.
She announced her departure early in Thursday morning’s episode. “I am just gonna rip the Band-Aid off,” McCain told her co-hosts and the audience what had been rumored all morning. “This is going to be my last season here at The View. I will be here until the end of July to finish out the season with the rest of you.”
McCain then shared that she relocated to Washington, D.C. after the COVID-19 pandemic halted New York in-studio production at The View, revealing that she’s now surrounded by a support system there for her entire family, including for her newborn daughter, Liberty, and husband Ben Domenech.
“COVID has changed the world for all of us,” she said, “and when I said goodbye to all of you in this studio over a year and a half ago, I just found out I was pregnant; I left the city pretty quickly … I came to the D.C. area. We have this incredible life here.”
“This show is hands down one of the greatest, most exhilarating, wonderful privileges of my entire life,” McCain continued. “It is a privilege to work alongside such strong, brilliant, intelligent incredible broadcasters like the four of you. You are the most talented women in all of television, hands down. It has been so incredible to be able to do this with you.”
Goldberg shared her sentiments about McCain’s news, contending it was an honor to welcome her to the series on behalf of her esteemed late father, then-Illinois Sen. Barack Obama‘s Republican opponent in the 2008 presidential race, who she says asked her to “take in her daughter.”
Sunny Hostin revealed she had also talked with the late prison camp survivor, telling her co-hostess colleague she will miss those “important conversations.” Said Behar to the new mother: “You and I have had disagreements; we’ve had our moments. We’ve also had some drinking moments which were rather fun and interesting.”
“I really really appreciated the fact,” continued Behar, “that you were a formidable opponent in many ways, and that you spoke your mind … and you’re no snowflake, missy! That’s the truth!”
Even with the end of its 24th season nearing, audiences will still have plenty of the opinionated McCain to watch on The View. “I will still be here another month,” she joked at the end of her announcement, “so if you want to fight a little bit more, you’ve got four more weeks.”
Many View watchers dove right in their views on Twitter.
McCain’s departure comes as a surprise since she previously stated this year that she was “not going anywhere.”
Appearing on Watch What Happens Live! with Andy Cohen in January, she told him at the time, “Whether we like it or not, I’m not going anywhere on the show, Joy’s not going anywhere on the show; we all have to live and co-exist together just like Americans right now … which is a little deeper of an answer, but we’re all going to try and co-exist. And I really want to have us all move forward.”
She guest-hosted The View several times before officially joining four years ago. When she got the full-time gig, McCain shared at the time: “I’m honored and proud to be part of such an iconic show with a diverse, smart, strong and interesting group of women. I’ve been a fan of the show for many years, so taking my seat at that table is definitely a career highlight!”
During her tenure, she’s had many memorable moments on the series, from a stirring conversation with then-former Vice President Joe Biden regarding her father’s cancer battle, and her return to the series after his August 2018 passing.
The View airs weekdays at 11 a.m. EST on ABC.
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