Meghan McCain Faces Criticism For Saying She ‘Doesn’t Trust’ Fauci

TOPLINE

Meghan McCain, the co-host of the View and Senator John McCain’s daughter, faced criticism Wednesday for expressing skepticism about National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease director Dr. Anthony Fauci,  resulting in criticism from her cohosts and users in social media.

KEY FACTS

Critical Quote

“I do think there was an impression made from some people that [violating social distance] was okay because the protesting and the existential crisis of police brutality, which we can have another conversation at another time, was more important than the virus and the outbreak,” said McCain on the Wednesday show.

Key Background

While Republicans like staunchly conservative Mitch McConell (R-KY) are saying ““Put on a mask—it’s not complicated,” local republican leaders are not convinced to follow guidelines professed by Fauci or the Centers for Disease Control. “[Fauci] doesn’t know what he’s talking about,” said Texas’ Republican Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick in a Tuesday night Fox News interview. “We haven’t skipped over anything. The only thing I’m skipping over is listening to him.”

Tangent

Political conflict between cohosts is a seeming staple of the View, which experienced its largest audience in two years during the coronavirus pandemic. McCain, show’s conservative cohost, is the daughter of Senator John McCain, joined the View in 2017, after working as a pundit for ABC News, Fox News and MSNBC. 

Further Reading

‘The View’ Explodes Over Trump Rally vs. Black Lives Matter Protesters (Daily Beast)

My Beef With Ann Coulter (Daily Beast)

Fauci Tells Congress U.S. Could Start Seeing 100,000 New Cases A Day (Forbes)