Meghan McCain criticizes unnamed “View” cohost over Israel coverage: 'Arguably the worst'
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Meghan McCain, the former View cohost who recently revealed that she's "always hesitant to rehash" her time on the talk show, is once again speaking out about it.
The 38-year-old conservative pundit welcomed controversial politician Ted Cruz and media personality Ben Ferguson as guests on Thursday's episode of her Meghan McCain Has Entered the Chat podcast, and the trio took aim at McCain's ex-colleagues after Cruz called out what he labeled mainstream "propaganda" about the war between Israel and Hamas.
"We go through about a dozen clips, including a couple from The View, where they're just repeating propaganda," Cruz said of his own podcast, which included footage of current View legal expert Sunny Hostin speaking about Israel's military response to Hamas' Oct. 7 terrorist attacks there.
"I think that clip from The View was arguably the worst. I think it's arguably the worst one I saw," McCain responded, refusing to reveal which cohost she was speaking about. "I know what you're talking about. I would rather not name her because it just gives her more attention."
Hostin previously discussed what she said were legal parameters surrounding Israel's response to the Hamas attacks, telling The View audience that there "is an international human rights body of law, and when you look at that law, part of it is retaliation against innocent civilians, collectively, is also terror, and is also a war crime — and, again, those are not my words, those are the words of the law."
Senator Cruz and McCain brought up The View elsewhere on the episode, with the politician saying his new book includes a wealth of criticism about the talk show.
Cruz told McCain that, after he last appeared as a View guest in October 2022 (and was subsequently interrupted by protestors in the studio audience), he attempted to go back to promote new projects.
"We called The View and said, 'Hey, Cruz has another book, would you have him on?' and they said, 'No, we don't want him back,'" Cruz revealed, to which McCain responded, "Because they only want dumb Republicans."
Lou Rocco/ABC via Getty Images Meghan McCain on 'The View'
McCain also claimed that "from a booking perspective, they can't get Republicans on the show."
A source with knowledge of the situation tells EW that McCain wanted to book controversial politician Lauren Boebert for an interview on The View in January 2021, days after the Jan. 6 insurrection.
When reached for comment, a source close to McCain responded, "That is unequivocally false. Meghan was a cohost, not the talent booker. In fact, if she had been, she would have never brought Donald Trump Jr. on as a guest after the malicious attacks of her recently deceased father [late U.S. Senator John McCain]."
In 2023 alone, The View welcomed Republican guests such as Rep. Nancy Mace, presidential hopeful Tim Scott, and former Donald Trump aide Cassidy Hutchinson, among others.
EW has reached out to a representative for The View for comment.
The View airs weekdays at 11 a.m. ET on ABC. Listen to McCain and Cruz discuss the talk show in the podcast episode above.
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