The View’s Meghan McCain took some shots at Sen. Martha McSally (R-AZ) on Friday after the lawmaker personally insulted a CNN reporter, pointing out that McSally didn’t “earn” the Senate seat she was appointed to after McCain’s father died.
After CNN senior congressional correspondent Manu Raju attempted to ask McSally whether the Senate should consider new evidence in the impending impeachment trial, the Arizona senator snapped at Raju: “You’re a liberal hack—I’m not talking to you.” McSally, meanwhile, quickly seized upon the instantly viral moment to fundraise for her tight election race before predictably appearing on Fox News to do a victory lap.
Discussing the incident on Friday’s broadcast of the ABC talk show, the View hosts noted that Raju’s question was “very reasonable” and that the lawmaker also refused to answer it when asked by Fox News’ Laura Ingraham during a chummy Thursday night interview.
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View co-host Ana Navarro speculated that McSally likely lashed out at Raju because she’s on “thin ice” in her Senate race, prompting McCain to offer up even more background.
“She’s actually appointed,” the conservative host added. “She didn’t win that seat. I think that’s important.”
After losing her Senate bid to Democrat Kyrsten Sinema in 2018, McSally was appointed by Republican Gov. Doug Ducey to permanently fill the seat that was vacated by Meghan’s father, Sen. John McCain (R-AZ), after his death. (McSally succeeded retired Sen. Jon Kyl, who accepted a temporary assignment to the seat immediately following McCain's death.)
“She didn’t earn it in the traditional sense of votes,” McCain added. “It’s an extremely tight race. Arizona could turn blue, which would—pigs may start flying around the studio if that ends up happening, I never thought I’d see the day.”
McCain went on to say that she believes that McSally is “playing her cards completely wrong” by fundraising off of the confrontation, adding that it is also a “thankless job” being a Capitol Hill reporter.
