Meghan McCain, the lone conservative on ABC’s long-running talk show The View, is leaving the program in July. The news began to break slowly this morning, and it was later officially announced on the show.
According to Page Six, “a Disney source told the Daily Mail” that McCain had two more years on her contract and that they wanted to keep her. Also, apparently, she didn’t tell her costars that she was leaving beforehand.
In the above video, McCain states that her motivation was driven by the changes that have happened since COVID. In the year and a half since their last in-studio meeting, she has moved to the D.C. area and had her daughter with pundit Ben Domenech.
“When I think about where I want Liberty [her daughter] to take her first steps and her first words, I just have this really wonderful life here,” McCain said during her announcement. “I felt like I didn’t want to leave.”
McCain spoke highly about her time on the show, calling it a “privilege” and her costars “the most talented women on all of television.” She recounted that one of the last things her father, the late John McCain, told her to do before he died was to join the show and not miss an opportunity to work with co-host Whoopi Goldberg. Joy Behar called her a “formidable opponent” and the event was honestly filled with what seemed like mutual respect, whatever the alleged drama behind the scenes might be.
As someone who has strongly disagreed with McCain on almost everything, there is no denying that her place on the show helped make it even more popular. I think some of the most compelling moments that helped solidify my own progressivism was hearing her conservative talking points. But her decision to leave now makes sense.
People are leaving their jobs now because of the chaotic world that we exist in. I can imagine not wanting to be arguing with people about politics over Zoom every day, being the lone person in your position, and being a new mother. That is not something I would want to spend time doing if I were in her position and in possession of that much privilege. Also, the Zoom format isn’t the best one for this type of discussion. It feels more impersonal and detached. The studio makes it feel more engaging.
Now the question is who will take on that seat on the table. In many ways I think, especially now, it is important to have someone fill it if only to not just make the show an echo chamber. However, I think McCain often struggled with speaking over people and the roundtable format, so it would probably be best to find someone who can argue their points but also doesn’t just have meltdowns every time they get pushback. Is part of that sexism in news coverage? Yes, but there is truth to the way she has acted on the show.
(via Page Six, image: ABC)
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