'The View' co-host Meghan McCain spars with Donald Trump Jr.: 'Is it worth it?'

Donald Trump Jr. and girlfriend Kimberly Giulfoyle appeared on "The View" on Thursday, making for an explosive hour of morning television.

While the couple sparred with the show's co-hosts on a variety of hot-button political topics, it was a particularly poignant moment when Meghan McCain took the floor that emerged as one of the episode's most notable clips.

"A lot of Americans in politics miss character, and a lot of people miss the soul of this country," the show's most conservative co-host started. "You and your family have hurt a lot of people and put a lot of people through a lot of pain, including the Kahn family, who is a Gold Star family who I think should be respected for the loss of their son. Does all of this make you feel good?"

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"I don't think any of that makes me feel good, but I do think that we got into this because we wanted to do what's right for America," Trump responded. "My father has been working tirelessly to bring back the American dream [to people] who've watched politicians who have no business experience send that American dream abroad to countries that hate our guts."

He then rattled off a list of his father's supposed accomplishments from his time in the White House.

"I understand that he is controversial, I understand that he's offended a lot of people, but I also understand that he took on the establishment, and that's the premiere sin in American politics these days, to do that," he went on. "I'm not happy that people interpret it that way, and I don't think that's our intention."

Visibly frustrated, McCain retorted that he wasn't exactly answering her initial question, which was about character in politics.

"I understand, but the question is about character and character in politics, which I believe is important. It's how I was raised; it's how I view the lens of America," she said. "I understand what you're saying about policy, but when you're talking about attacking Gold Star families who have given the ultimate sacrifice [...] and you put them through pain, does it make you feel like this was worth it?"

"He calls a lot of those Gold Star families, and he has a lot of care for those gold-star people, but when he's constantly under attack by the same people, when he's under attack by the establishment, the reality is this: he's a counter-puncher," he answered. "As a conservative, I would hope that you would appreciate that conservative haven't been known to fight back in a very long time. They've ceded ground to the liberals and the liberal elite for decades by not actually fighting back, so I understand that we can keep going back to character. I think he has great character, I think my family has character."

Trump Jr. then ended his answer by expressing his condolences to McCain, whose aunt passed away overnight.

"For me, it just would not have been worth it," she said after confirming her aunt died. "This would not have been worth it. [...] Inflicting on so many people wouldn't have been worth it to me and my family [to get] to the White House. So, I just want to know, is it worth it?"

"Well, listen, I think it depends on the hat I'm wearing. For me, as a citizen, as a father, hey, as a father of kids in New York City, it hasn't exactly been peaches and cream for us either. But it is worth it when I do go around the country and I see people who are affected by these politics, who are getting to live the American dream again, who are seeing wage growth for the lowest levels go up, when I see it happening with those people and they tell me their stories [about] how they're so happy they voted for my father, how they're so happy that he actually had the guts to take on those people, to not just accept the status quo."