Meghan McCain Sets The Record Straight On Her The View Exit

Meghan McCain first joined "The View" as a co-host in July 2017. She took on the role of the conservative voice on the talk show, a role that Elisabeth Hassleback held for 10 years. On July 1, the daughter of the late Sen. John McCain announced her departure after four seasons. Throughout the years, she'd made headlines for her controversial comments, most recently for the comment she made about first lady Dr. Jill Biden's fashion choice on the cover of Vogue. Despite having two years left on her contract, per the Daily Mail, McCain made the difficult decision to leave the show.

She attributed her move to D.C. during the pandemic as the reason for leaving. "When I think about where I want Liberty to have her first steps, her first words — I just have this really wonderful life here that ultimately I felt like I didn't want to leave," McCain told her co-hosts, per Daily Mail. She further acknowledged that she felt being on "The View" was "one of the greatest, most exhilarating, wonderful privileges" of her entire life. She also thanked her co-hosts Joy Behar, Whoopi Goldberg, and Sunny Hostin, calling them "strong, brilliant, intelligent broadcasters."

In McCain's new audio book, "Bad Republican," which is out on October 21, she delves more into the real reason she left the long-running talk show.

Meghan McCain announced her exit from "The View" in early July after four seasons occupying the show's conservative chair. In her audio memoir "Bad Republican," she dives deeper into her reasons for departing two years before her contract was up. "You can't imagine how it messes with your self-esteem working in an environment where the worst thing you can be in the world is a Republican during the Trump years," McCain wrote in her book, per Variety. "As the country got worse under Trump, the treatment from Whoopi, Joy and some of the staff grew meaner and less forgiving."

The former talk show host continued saying that she felt like a punching bag for ex-President Trump's actions. "It was as if I had become an avatar for everything they hated about the president," she explained. McCain also discussed how it was particularly tough to work alongside Whoopi Goldberg, writing, "I found her open disdain for me more and more difficult to manage as the years went on and it became more frequent." She added that a hurtful on-air fight she'd gotten into with Joy Behar after her return from maternity leave made her realize "this sh*t isn't worth this. Nothing in life is worth this."

Since leaving, McCain has started a new job at DailyMail.com as a columnist. Upon announcing her role, she said she was "excited to work in a completely uncensored free space."