Meghan McCain is once again catching flack online.
During a conversation on “The View” about Asian-American representation in Joe Biden’s administration, the co-host expressed concerns about the push to increase diversity.
Meghan McCain: "We’ve only had one Asian American host co-host host this show. Does that mean one of us should be leaving because there’s not enough representation? We're talking about — is identity politics more important than the qualifications for the job?" pic.twitter.com/0nN1ilB9Nn
— Justin Baragona (@justinbaragona) March 24, 2021
Explaining that she believed only the “most qualified” people should hold top governmental positions, she said, “I believe what makes American exceptional is the fact that we’re a meritocracy, that you can be anything. That you can come from anywhere and go and have success in any capacity. And I think the question Democrats have to reconcile with right now is whether or not race and gender are more important than qualification.”
She went on, describing a potential “slippery slope,” in which minority candidates with “less experience” might be put ahead of people who are “more qualified who happens to be a white straight person who has more experience.”
McCain, turning the subject to the show itself, added, “Just to put a cap on this, ‘The View’ is 25 years old next year. We’ve only had one Asian American host co-host this show. So does that mean that one of one of us should be leaving because there’s not enough representation? Is identity politics more important than the qualifications for the job? And I think that’s a question going forward that the progressive left is going to have to reconcile.”
Sunny to Meghan McCain: "It's not about gender and race being more important than qualifications. It's about the fact that they're MANY qualified women & minority candidates that never get the opportunity because of the advancement of generally white male mediocrity."
#TheView pic.twitter.com/kFWJjf2eUV — The Chat (@LiveOnTheChat) March 24, 2021
Responding to her comments during the conversation, co-host Sunny Hostin clarified, “It’s not about gender and race being more important than qualifications. It’s about the fact that there are many qualified women and minority candidates that never get the opportunity because of the advancement of generally white male mediocrity, because of things like legacy.”
On Twitter, many chided McCain for her comments, noting her apparently lack of qualifications for a career in broadcasting outside of being the daughter of late U.S. senator John McCain.
There have been more View co-hosts who are children of famous people than view co-hosts who are Asian. Does she really think that's because there aren't enough Asian people with the right qualifications? https://t.co/y5MGiQRtDD
— Abby D. Phillip (@abbydphillip) March 24, 2021
Meghan McCain literally got this job because of her identity as John McCain's daughter, how are people like this so totally lacking in self-awareness? https://t.co/ntn19PTbTP
— Jill Filipovic (@JillFilipovic) March 24, 2021
All decent people hate Meghan McCain but the people who ought to hate her most are fellow beneficiaries of nepotism who put at least some minimal effort into seeming worthy of the privileges they've inherited. https://t.co/4MyDC74pSH
— David Klion (@DavidKlion) March 24, 2021
After the clip began to go viral, McCain reached out to one of her critics, former New York State government official Lindsey Boylan, inviting her to come on the show to discuss the issue of identity politics. But she offended her by mentioning recent allegations she had made.
Hi Lindsey, would love to have you come on @TheView to talk about this and also your accusations against Governor Cuomo. I believe the show has reached out already. I find real conversations much more impactful than keyboard politics behind a screen. https://t.co/IG56EEk5Bf
— Meghan McCain (@MeghanMcCain) March 24, 2021
Boylan responded to the invitation with a rebuke against McCain for bringing up the accusations against Cuomo, which had no connection to her criticisms of the TV host.
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McCain attempted to smooth things over, by explaining that she has been “horrified” by the allegations against Cuomo by multiple women.
Respectfully, I would love to talk to you in general about identity politics and have also remained horrified by all of the accusations from you against Governor Cuomo. https://t.co/bI6WiqJb59
— Meghan McCain (@MeghanMcCain) March 24, 2021
Boylan has not yet respond directly to McCain again, but did address the issue of anti-Asian racism in other tweets.
And until then I’m just gonna look away and focus on what I need to do to raise my Asian-American daughter in a safer America.
— Lindsey Boylan (@LindseyBoylan) March 24, 2021
McCain continued to fight back the critics on Thursday’s episode of “The View”, expressing her belief as to the actual source of the negative feedback.
McCain said she sympathized with Chrissy Teigen’s departure from Twitter.
“I have suffered from depression because of things people have done to me on social media,” she added, “but I don’t feel I’m in a place where I can quit social media because I need to use it for my job. It’s a Catch-22, we’re living in a toxic time.”
ET Canada stands with the Asian community in working together to stop anti-Asian racism in Canada, the United States, and around the world to #StopAsianHate.
Canadians can stay informed by following community groups and leaders, including but not limited to: https://nextshark.com/, https://www.dearasianyouth.org/home,
If you or someone you know is experiencing hate-crimes related to xenophobic attacks in Canada you can file a report at: https://www.elimin8hate.org/fileareport.
Bystander intervention training to anti-Asian and xenophobic harassment is available at: ihollaback.org/bystanderintervention/.
