‘The View’: Meghan McCain Calls Headlines About Her With Elizabeth Warren ‘Fake News’

Meghan McCain is certainly known for stirring up controversy as a co-host on The View. And the conservative pundit and daughter of the late Sen. John McCain didn’t disappoint in that respect when Sen. Elizabeth Warren, a 2020 presidential candidate, appeared on the ABC talk show on Jan. 7.

McCain and Warren seemed to butt heads, as McCain tried to change the subject several times while Warren continued to drive her point home. The View fans flooded social media with support for Warren, as McCain has frequently been criticized for her tendency to interrupt guests and fellow co-hosts on the show. 

However, McCain took to Twitter to suggest that the headlines didn’t have it right this time. Instead, she called her conversation with Warren on The View “respectful” and said neither of the women were ignoring each other or being rude. 

A clip of McCain and Warren on ‘The View’ went viral

In keeping with The View’s tradition when it comes to interviewing U.S. presidential hopefuls, The View co-hosts discussed a variety of hot-button topics with the 70-year-old presidential candidate. Issues included Donald Trump’s impeachment proceedings, the recent killing of Iranian general Qasem Soleimani by the U.S. government, and more.

When it came to discussing a potential wealth tax on people who make over $50 million and how much Warren believes it would impact federal funding for education and childcare services, things appeared to get very awkward with McCain. 

The View co-host tried to change the subject back to an earlier remark by Joy Behar several times. McCain even seemed to break the fourth wall with a smiling “double take” to the audience as Warren appeared to forge on with her statement instead of answering McCain’s questions. 

The ‘View’ co-host took to Twitter to push back against the media

As soon as the View clip was released, media headlines said Warren was “ignoring” McCain or that McCain was trying to “interrupt” the senator.

For her part, McCain claimed on Twitter that nothing could be further from the truth. “What kind of bizarre fake news headline is this?” she quote tweeted in response to a People headline about the incident. “Did you not see us have a discussion about her labeling Soleimani a terrorist, OR her take on AOC’s statements about moderates in the dem party? We had a very interesting and respectful conversation. Warren didn’t ignore anything.”

McCain has called out what she sees as media bias against conservative public figures in the past, so this wasn’t a new move for her. The View co-host has also repeatedly spoken out against what she sees as “sexist” coverage of the daytime talk show. She has argued that the media often paints the hosts’ arguments as catfights or gossip instead of serious debate because of its all-female panel. 

People eventually appeared to delete the link and change the headline in response to the criticism.

Many fans weren’t buying McCain’s defense, while others supported her

Some The View fans supported McCain and agreed with her that the takes on her interaction with Warren were more than a bit sexist. “Yikes. 2020 and we’re still pitting women against each other? If anything Elizabeth listened more than most interviewees,” wrote one Twitter user. 

However, other fans of The View thought McCain was purposely misrepresenting what had happened between her and the Massachusetts senator. In particular, McCain has been called out in the past for allegedly interrupting and trying to speak over both interviewees and other panelists. 

“You’re in denial.  What about your take out to the audience because Senator Warren refused to fall for your rude game of interruptions?” one critic pushed back under McCain’s post. 

Another agreed, claiming the View co-host simply wasn’t used to guests setting clear boundaries with her. “Megan, did you forget the part where you tried to rudely interrupt Warren but she didn’t allow it? I think that is what they are talking about. Yes, you did have a conversation but she also didn’t let you be rude to her. You seemed to have left that out,” the fan wrote on Twitter.