Meghan McCain got a bit of an ego boost from the search to find a permanent replacement for her empty seat at “The View.” The former host said this week that she was pretty pleased with how long it took to find a conservative voice to add to the table full time.
McCain left “The View” in August 2021, at the end of the show’s 24th season. For the entirety of season 25, the show had a revolving door of guest hosts, effectively auditioning them in real time. There were a few names that popped in to guest host multiple times, including Michele Tafoya, Tara Setmayer and others. But in the end, the full time slot went to former Trump communications director Alyssa Farah Griffin, as well as Ana Navarro.
In an interview with SiriusXM’s Andy Cohen this week, McCain boasted about the fact that she was replaced by two people, and that it took all of “The View” Season 25 to make the decision.
“It took a year and two people to replace me, which makes me feel good,” McCain said on “Andy Cohen Live.” “And I get to take that.”
When asked for her thoughts on Farah Griffin specifically, McCain was a bit mixed in her feedback, but first criticized Farah Griffin’s family.
“I don’t know her at all. The only thing I know about her is her family. She comes from an extremely, extremely controversial background,” McCain explained. “Her dad is a very famous homophobe and racist who started birtherism. He’s actually the person that invented Obama’s birtherism.”
McCain, who often invoked her own father’s name and association during her time on “The View,” added that Farah Griffin’s father “is someone who’s very, very known in political circles because of his extremism,” and that, as a result, “I automatically am not gonna be in those kind of circles that she ran in, or anyone who worked in the Trump White House.”
McCain noted that Farah Griffin’s father — who Alyssa has been vocal on the show about becoming estranged from, following the Jan. 6 insurrection — is “not necessarily a reflection” of the host herself and that she generally hopes Farah Griffin will succeed in the role.
“I don’t wanna say anything negative about someone who’s doing that job right now or after,” McCain said. “I swore I would never do, quite frankly, what Sherri [Shepard] just did to me. I wish [Alyssa] the best of luck. It is very hard. It’s gonna get harder when midterms come, and I wish her success.”
McCain’s irritation with Shepard comes from Shepard’s own recent appearance on “Watch What Happens Live,” during which she noted that she’s in touch with all of her former coworkers from “The View” – except McCain.
