‘The View’: Meghan McCain and Joy Behar Are More Alike Than You Might Think
There’s a lot of tension on The View right now.
The show is usually charged with energy and plenty of heated conversations, but things reached a fever pitch recently after moderator Whoopi Goldberg put Meghan McCain in her place during one especially dramatic exchange. The whole incident is causing some fans to question if McCain should be on the show at all.
An old petition to have conservative McCain removed from the panel started gaining momentum in advance of the show’s January 2020 return from a holiday hiatus. Network executives haven’t addressed the petition, but it’s clear that there are plenty of viewers who want McCain to get fired.
You’d think that Joy Behar, arguably the person with the most opposing views on the show, would be the first signature. But it turns out McCain and Behar are ‘good friends’ and are more alike than you’d think.
Behar and McCain frequently get into heated debates on ‘The View’
It’s easy to see why McCain and Behar have engaged in so many on-air battles during their stints on the show. Behar is extremely liberal while McCain is a staunch conservative, meaning these two women have opposite viewpoints on most political and social issues. And they’re not afraid to show it.
During one especially vicious fight in June 2019, McCain called Behar a nasty name while trying to defend Trump supporters. “You know what, Joy, really, I come here every day open-minded trying to explain it and it’s not a fun job for me. I know you’re angry. I know that you’re angry that Trump is president,” she said, before referring to herself as a “sacrificial Republican” on the show.
When Behar responded with a sarcastic, “Awwww,” McCain hit back with, “Don’t feel bad for me, b*tch. I’m paid to do this.”
Both women have passionate viewpoints
Though their beliefs are on opposite ends of the spectrum, Behar and McCain recognize and appreciate the passion in one another. They might have vastly different opinions. But their absolute devotion to causes they care about inspires respect in one another, too.
“This is a very hard job,” McCain said during a 2019 interview with Entertainment Tonight. Speaking to Behar, she said, “I think because you and I are so emotionally invested in the topics, I get very upset or happy. It’s like, lots of intense emotions on this show and part of it is the political climate we’re in and part of it’s just the nature of the show, getting booed is very hard.”
She went on to say that getting booed hurts her feelings.
Behar and McCain insist they are friends in real life
Two people don’t have to see eye to eye to make a friendship work. This truth explains why McCain and Behar say they really do get along off screen and have even influenced each other’s viewpoints on certain issues.
McCain said it stings whenever people assume she and Behar are mortal enemies. “It genuinely hurts my feelings because our dressing rooms are next door to each other and you and I have the same emotional reaction to things — sometimes in different ways — but we’re both upset equally, the equal amount of the same things. And I wish people would give us a break, for real.”
Behar agreed, saying, “And we’re both becoming a little bit more, um, not moderate, but we’ve sort of become… Like, we’re not so adamant about our positions.” She went on to explain that she used to support Elizabeth Warren as a presidential candidate before McCain convinced her that a more moderate Democrat would be a smarter choice.
Behar and McCain won’t likely stop fighting anytime soon. But maybe it’s because they have so much in common and, at the heart of it all, a healthy respect for each other’s strong opinions.
