It’s been a mere four months since Trump-backed extremists swarmed the Capitol and tried to hunt down and harm lawmakers in an attempt to overthrow a fairly-won presidential election. The same attack in which Capitol police officers, faced with hundreds of violent and enraged insurrectionists, feared for their lives — and some, lost them. Meghan McCain suggested on The View that it’s now time for the media to focus on something else. The backlash to her comment was immediate.
HEARING ON RIOT EXPOSES PARTISAN DIVISIONS: The co-hosts react to the differing views between Republicans and Democrats during a hearing on the deadly Jan. 6 insurrection at the Capitol and question if some GOP lawmakers are rationalizing the riot. https://t.co/ecY4yJWw2Z pic.twitter.com/eDG2ZSLxkt
— The View (@TheView) May 13, 2021
The discussion started on the May 13 episode with moderator Whoopi Goldberg playing a clip of Rep. Andrew Clyburn (R-GA) saying that the footage of the siege looked like “a normal tourist visit.” After other co-hosts discussed (“what was he smoking?, Whoopi said), she threw to Meghan for her take. Meghan didn’t seem all that interested in the topic at hand. “Well, this happened four months ago, and we’ve been talking about it for four months, and I’ve made my perspective on it crystal clear. I think it’s horrific, I don’t believe the ‘Big Lie.'”
Meghan then accused the media of creating a “strategy” to downplay the problems in the Biden administration by continuing to talk about the January 6 siege. “There’s a crisis at the border, the Middle East is on fire, inflation rates are sky high, unemployment is crazy, people can’t get gas in their cars… I think we should be focusing on that vs. re-litigating something that happened four months ago.”
Sees Meghan trending….#TheView pic.twitter.com/Bby1TG8ETT
— Ja'LeeTerrace (@JLeeterrace) May 13, 2021
God I love @sunny she is a woman who is so amazing and powerful! She will never stop reminding us of what happened on January 6th and honestly she has so many good points. Keep up the good fight Sunny! We love you!!! #TheView
— Witty Bish (@AliGreen2468) May 13, 2021
Moments later, Twitter erupted. “Meagan [sic] McCain saying let’s forgive the insurrection after 4 months. is like saying let’s forgive our ex after trying to murder us,” one viewer tweeted. “Dear Meghan McCain: HOW DARE YOU accuse the media of ‘re-litigating something that happened four months ago’ while whining that you can’t find gas to fill your car and blaming Biden for everything he inherited from the Former Guy? Your father is rolling in his grave. #TheView,” an angry The View fan wrote.
Others praised Sunny Hostin for her response to Meghan. “The party of law and order, [Republicans] should be ashamed of themselves for what they did yesterday, what they continue to do, and that is an important story that we should never, ever, ever stop talking about or forget.” Said one fan, “God I love @sunny she is a woman who is so amazing and powerful! She will never stop reminding us of what happened on January 6th and honestly she has so many good points. Keep up the good fight Sunny! We love you!!!”