After four often-combative seasons, Meghan McCain is leaving the ABC morning talk show “The View.”
McCain, who occupies the conservative seat on the show’s panel of all-female hosts, announced her decision on Thursday’s show.
“I’m just going to rip the bandaid off…This is going to be my last season here at ‘The View.’”
While the timing of the decision surprised many, McCain said the pandemic changed her perspective on life and said she wanted to remain in Washington D.C. with her husband, conservative political pundit Ben Domenech and their young daughter. They relocated there during the pandemic and McCain said she would not return to The View’s studio.
McCain praised her co-hosts and called it a privilege to have worked on the show. One of her on-air partners, Sunny Hostin, responded with this:
“Your father told me to take it easy on you, that I would grow to love you, and that you were a pain in the ass. He was right about all of those things.”
Variety reported McCain asked ABC to let her out of her contract event though she reportedly had two years left on her deal.
Another report said ABC executives “begged” McCain to stay, but she turned them down flat. With McCain offering the conservative perspective to counter-balance the liberal leanings of the other members of the show, Whoopi Goldberg, Joy Behar, Sunny Hostin and Sara Haines, ratings for “The View” soared during her tenure. It became increasingly politically-oriented during the Trump era, and it became a mandatory stop for all political figures in the run-up to the 2020 election. McCain’s spirited battles with her co-hosts, especially Whoopi Goldberg, often went viral and made her a regular trending topic on Twitter.
As could be expected, social media had an opinion on her decision to quit the show.
McCain will stay on with the show through the end of July. There is no word from ABC on a possible replacement for her at this time.