ABC’s ‘The View’ hosts didn’t cut Meghan McCain any slack on her first day as the conservative voice on the show’s panel of women.
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McCain’s debut on the show featured a contentious debate about NFL players protesting by kneeling during the National Anthem, and she was relentlessly hammered by the other hosts and the audience.
“If you are a public servant you are supposed to enforce the Constitution…for Vice President Pence and the president to tell people and almost demand people not exercise their Constitutional rights–that’s very un-American,” Sunny Hostin said of VP Pence leaving an Indianapolis Colts game after players kneeled during the anthem.
McCain argued that the flag is an important cultural symbol for many people, including herself as her father, Sen. John McCain, served in the military.
“I think we can have a conversation about both things while still respecting what the National Anthem and the American flag mean to people like me,” McCain argued.
Joy Behar quickly chimed in to combat McCain’s point, asserting that soldiers die so that Colin Kaepernick and other football players have a right to protest. Her statement was met with loud applause from the audience.
McCain shot back that NFL players of course have the right to protest, but she doesn’t think it’s the most respectful way for them to do so. The audience remained silent after McCain’s rebuttal.
“It’s not disrespectful [for people to kneel during the anthem],” Hostin declared to more audience applause.
If this exchange is any indication, McCain will definitely not have an easier time on the show than former conservative cohost Jedediah Bila.