Meghan McCain Thanks Democrats for the 'Gift' of 'Defund the Police'

Whoopi Goldberg has been absent from The View for the past week due to her sciatica, but the ABC talk show continues to chug along without her. On Monday morning, Meghan McCain opined on "the left" during a Hot Topic about the GOP's crisis-heavy messaging, and she even thanked Democrats for introducing the phrase "Defund the Police" to her conservative counterparts. "The biggest gift Republicans have ever been given is the term 'Defund the Police.'" said McCain. "I thought it was the stupidest thing I've ever heard when I first heard it being used."

For the past few weeks, McCain has toed the party line as she discussed rising crime rates, and she continued to do so this morning, when she cited a Washington Post report about how "Democratic strategists are very concerned about how effective the terminology 'Defund the Police' has been when it comes to voting." McCain argued that "the hyper-progressive candidates that ran on things like 'Defunding the Police' in the general election and running for president against President Biden, they didn't get anywhere, and in the [New York City] mayoral race didn't get anywhere, as well."

"It's important for Republicans to understand that Democrats kowtow to a Twitter audience, a lot of times. They kowtow to people in the media," she continued, adding that the term 'Defund the Police' is just one example of this. "Facts are stubborn things. There's a huge homicide crisis in the country, and whether or not AOC likes it, it's okay for people to be concerned about the homicide spike. And I think that's going to be very effective going into midterms."

NEW GOP MESSAGING SUGGESTS U.S. IN CRISIS: The co-hosts react to new campaign messaging and strategies emerging from Republicans focusing on topics such as the ‘defund the police’ movement, immigration, and teaching of critical race theory. https://t.co/cVclFZQmjA pic.twitter.com/euMkn4YNcV

— The View (@TheView) June 28, 2021

The View will be off for the 4th of July beginning this Friday, July 2, so if Whoopi needs to take a few extra days to recover, it won't be a huge deal. In the meantime, expect Ana Navarro to fill in as the show welcomes a full slate of guests:

Monday, June 28 – Andy Richter (series finale, Conan); “View Your Deal” with hottest items at affordable prices
Tuesday, June 29 – The Political View with NYC mayoral candidate and Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams; track stars the Sheppard sisters, once homeless, make a return visit to The View (Sisters on Track)
Wednesday, June 30 —Marilyn Manson accuser Ashley Morgan Smithline joined by attorney Jay Ellwanger
Thursday, July 1 — Brian Kelly (“The Points Guy”)
Friday, July 2 — Repeat Episode (05/19/21): John Stamos (Big Shot); Dorothy A. Brown (author, The Whiteness of Wealth)

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Claire Spellberg Lustig is the Senior Editor at Primetimer and a scholar of The View. Follow her on Twitter at @c_spellberg.