Meghan McCain criticized the inconsistent public health messaging and regulations on COVID-19, arguing that they appeared to be “more about control than science.”
McCain joined her co-hosts Monday on ABC’s “The View” to discuss the ongoing battle to get as many Americans vaccinated against coronavirus as possible — an effort that McCain said had only been harmed by messaging she described as “psychotic.” (RELATED: ‘I Am So Grossed Out’: Meghan McCain Explodes Over Racist Attacks On Tim Scott)
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“When we were first talking about vaccine hesitancy on this show, months and months and months ago, a lot of it centered around minority populations,” McCain began. She noted that particularly black Americans might have shied away from a government-funded vaccine because of the Tuskegee study, during which the government left black men — without their consent — to suffer the effects of syphilis untreated so that they could observe the disease’s natural progression.
“The narrative and the feeling coming out was compassion and trying to convince people in a way of empathy that we all need to be in this together, we are in this together. We should get vaccinated together. It was effective,” McCain continued, arguing that attempts to reach Republicans had been less effective.
“The message to Republicans is, ‘You dumb hillbillies stay away from me.’ It’s not going to convince anyone of anything,” she said. “The messaging on this is absolute garbage towards conservatives and Republicans, and it’s getting worse. It’s a public health crisis. I agree we should all be vaccinated. I myself am vaccinated. I have no problem with vaccines, But the messaging is psychotic.”
McCain pointed out that at least one city in Massachusetts was ignoring the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)’s guidelines on outdoor masks while states like Florida were removing mask mandates altogether.
“It feels like it’s more about control than science. If the vaccine is more than 94% effective, which we’re told by science … if the vaccine works, why do we have to wear masks outdoors? Why do we have to wear masks inside? That’s also part of the messaging problem,” McCain continued, arguing that if the vaccine wasn’t going to change anything, fewer people would choose to get it.
“I’m horrified by the way people are talking to Republicans right now in this way,” McCain concluded. “I think we should try and lead people along instead of saying they’re dumb morons in the middle of the country that are going to kill everybody. It’s just not effective.”