Meghan McCain defends being the 'big bad Republican' on TV: 'My mere existence triggers the left'

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She’s been mocked by Saturday Night Live and John Oliver, grilled by Seth Meyers and accused of being “rude and entitled.” Even so, Meghan McCain has no plans to stand down in the face of criticism.

“I think some people feel the pressure, not just here but on TV in general, when they’re Republicans in front of a liberal audience, to not be the big bad Republican,” McCain says in a new New York Times Magazine feature about her show, The View. “And I don’t care. I should care more, but it’s more important to me to be true to myself.”

WASHINGTON, DC, UNITED STATES - 2019/03/26: Meghan McCain, TV Host and Author, seen speaking during the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) Policy Conference in Washington, DC. (Photo by Michael Brochstein/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)
Meghan McCain has opened up about being the "big bad Republican" on The View. (Photo: Michael Brochstein/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)

The piece calls the Republican daughter of the late Sen. John McCain the “most combative questioner” on the ABC daytime talk show, and acknowledges that its audience includes “hate-watchers” ready to pounce on the latest round of bickering.

“McCain presses buttons for a certain kind of liberal who finds her views the apotheosis of white privilege — as does her tendency to lose her composure or name-drop her father,” notes writer Amanda FitzSimons.

But McCain defends her outspoke nature.

“The Trump years make everything more heated and more intense,” McCain tells FitzSimons. “I am not here to do cooking segments.”

Nor is she going to be cowed by any negative headlines. On Tuesday, a defiant McCain shared an article accusing the media of trying to “belittle” her. The 34-year-old tweeted that she “triggers the left” but she “can’t stop, won’t stop.”

Per usual, her comeback to critics has generated more backlash, with commenters accusing her of “playing the victim.”

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