Meghan McCain

Meghan Marguerite McCain (born October 23, 1984) is an American columnist, author, and television personality. She has worked for ABC News, Fox News, MSNBC, and serves as a co-host of The View since 2017.

Meghan McCain
McCain in June 2018
Born
Meghan Marguerite McCain

(1984-10-23) October 23, 1984
Phoenix, Arizona, U.S.
Alma materColumbia University (BA)
Occupation
  • Television personality
  • author
  • columnist
Political partyRepublican (2008–present)[1]
Independent (before 2008)
Spouse(s)
(
m. 2017)
Parent(s)John McCain
Cindy McCain

McCain is the daughter of 2008 presidential candidate and U.S. senator John McCain and Cindy McCain. She has been a public figure for much of her life, first appearing at the 1996 Republican National Convention. McCain received media attention of her own accord in 2007 for her blog, McCain Blogette, on which she documented life on the campaign trail with her father. In 2009, she became a contributing writer for The Daily Beast, before going on to work for numerous major news networks.

Early life

McCain is the eldest of the four children of John and Cindy Hensley McCain.[2] She was born on October 23, 1984 in Phoenix, Arizona, and attended Phoenix Country Day School and Xavier College Preparatory, an all-girl private Catholic high school.[3] She appeared at the 1996 Republican National Convention when she was 11 years of age.[4]

She attended Columbia College of Columbia University, where she earned her bachelor's degree in art history. McCain originally planned to become a music journalist and interned at Newsweek and Saturday Night Live.[5]

Career

2008 presidential election
McCain campaigning with her father in 2008

McCain launched a blog titled McCain Blogette in 2007, documenting her father's presidential campaign as well as musing about fashion, music, and pop culture.[6][7] On June 12, 2008, McCain wrote on her blog that she had changed her party registration to Republican.[1] She said she did so "as a symbol of my commitment to my Dad and to represent the faith I have in his ability to be an effective leader for our country and to grow and strengthen the Republican party when he is elected president of the United States."[1] In her book Dirty Sexy Politics McCain talks about how she nearly overdosed on Xanax on the day of the election.[8] In 2008, she published a book titled My Dad, John McCain.[9] In an interview on Larry King Live in September 2008, McCain stated that she had been too busy to have a romantic relationship while on her father's campaign trail.

Although her blogging was devoted to gaining support for her father among the Generation Y electorate, by October, Steve Schmidt and other McCain campaign staffers had substantially limited her appearances on the campaign, deeming her "too controversial."[10]

Subsequent career

McCain began writing for The Daily Beast in January 2009.[2][11][12] In March 2009, she wrote an article for The Daily Beast titled "My Beef With Ann Coulter." In this article, she questioned Republican support for conservative author and columnist Ann Coulter.[13] While Coulter did not respond, conservative radio talk show host Laura Ingraham challenged McCain's article by comparing her to a "valley girl." Ingraham also mocked McCain: "Ok, I was really hoping that I was going to get that role in The Real World, but then I realized that, well, they don't like plus-sized models."[14] McCain responded to Ingraham in a second article for The Daily Beast titled "Quit Talking About My Weight, Laura Ingraham": "Instead of intellectually debating our ideological differences about the future of the Republican Party, Ingraham resorted to making fun of my age and weight, in the fashion of the mean girls in high school."[15] McCain also stated that she thought the change in discourse toward her body was "terrible" and further argued, "When Tyra Banks went on her show in a bathing suit and said 'kiss my fat ass,' that's what I feel like. Kiss my fat ass!"[16] Ingraham responded by calling McCain a "useful idiot."[17] During a later interview on Larry King Live, McCain said that as far as she is concerned, "with what's going on with Laura Ingraham, on my end, it's over." She also told King that Coulter never responded to her article, which, she stated, "is fine with me.... All I wanted to do is show women that you don't have to be Ann Coulter and Laura Ingraham to have a place in the Republican Party.... Supriya Jindal is a good role model, but a lot of people hadn't heard of her."[18]

In April 2009 she signed a six-figure book deal with Hyperion.[19] She described her aims in this way: "All I am trying to be is a young, cool Republican woman for other Republican women."[19] Politico stated that while John McCain did not emerge from the 2008 election victorious, "his Bud Light–drinking, talk-show–appearing, insouciantly Twittering 24-year-old daughter" did."[19] Speaking at the 2009 Log Cabin Republican Convention, McCain said there was "a war brewing in the Republican Party" between the past and the future, and that "Most of the old school Republicans are scared shitless of that future."[20] She followed that by saying her enjoyment of Twitter was diminished by the presence of top Republican strategist Karl Rove, saying, "I can't shake the fact that Karl Rove is following me—it can be creepy" and "We need to take Twitter back from the creepy people."[21]

McCain with her mother in 2012

Statements such as these led news reports and commentators including Rachel Maddow and Kathleen Parker to conclude that McCain had the same "maverick gene" as her father.[22][23][24] Following the April 2009 party switch by Senator Arlen Specter from Republican to Democratic, conservative commentator Rush Limbaugh suggested that many Republicans wished both John McCain and Meghan McCain would leave too.[25] Meghan McCain's tweet in response was, "RED TIL I'M DEAD BABY!!! I love the Republican party enough to give it constructive criticism, I love my party and sure as hell not leavin'!"[25]

On a May 2009 episode of the Colbert Report, she stated her support for sex education and criticized Bristol Palin's sexual abstinence campaign, saying it was "not realistic for this generation". McCain also stated her own desires for the Republican Party: "It can be a party for a 24-year-old pro-sex woman. It can be."[26] After John McCain campaign fixture Joe the plumber made some anti-gay remarks (saying he would not have "queers ... anywhere near my children") in mid-2009, Meghan McCain took aim at him, saying "Joe the plumber—you can quote me—is a dumbass. He should stick to plumbing."[27] In September 2009 and February 2010, McCain had repeat stints as guest co-host of The View.[28][29] In September 2010, she appeared on the NPR news quiz show Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me and won a prize for a listener.[30]

Her campaign memoir, Dirty Sexy Politics, was published in September 2010. In it she expresses her opinions about Sarah Palin and describes her relationships with the McCain campaign staff. She states that the Republican Party seemed "to have lost its way in the last ten years,"[31] that the conservative movement seemed "hell-bent on restricting our freedoms rather than expanding them,"[32] and that within the Republican Party, she felt a certain stress to take over the ideas of others, like Mitt Romney, especially regarding same-sex marriage, which was a danger for the existence of the party.[33] The New York Times described the book as a coming-of-age narrative about herself.[10][34] However, other reviews were more scathing. Leon H. Wolf wrote, "It is impossible to read Dirty, Sexy Politics and come away with the impression that you have read anything other than the completely unedited ramblings of an idiot."[35] During the promotional tour for the book, McCain canceled an appearance at Juniata College owing to what she called "unforeseen professional circumstances." However, according to her Twitter, she was actually in Las Vegas on a girls' weekend, as she got over a boyfriend ending their relationship via e-mail.[36]

McCain has publicly discussed her struggles with grief from the death of her father, John McCain in 2018.[37] In December 2019, McCain spoke with Dr. Lucy Kalanithi on stage at the annual End Well Symposium about challenging taboos and destigmatizing conversations about grief and death.[38]

Television career

In November 2011, McCain became an analyst on MSNBC, and immediately got into a back-and-forth with 2012 Republican presidential candidate Newt Gingrich.[39] In commentary on this, Gawker referred to her as "noted idiot Meghan McCain" and observed of her first outing that "she 'bets [her] career' that Newt Gingrich won't win the GOP nomination. What career."[40]

A month-long road trip with comedian Michael Ian Black in the summer of 2011 led to a collaboration on the 2012 book America, You Sexy Bitch: A Love Letter to Freedom.[41] In it, McCain lambasts Republican strategist Karl Rove for what she believes was his role in the attacks against her younger sister in her father's 2000 presidential campaign, castigates Bill Clinton for his actions in the Lewinsky scandal, but despite ideological differences, praises Hillary Clinton for having "pushed through many doors and shattered many glass ceilings for women in politics. I love women who don't put up with shit, and Hillary clearly doesn't."[41] In September 2013, her road-based talk show Raising McCain began on the start-up Pivot cable and satellite television channel.[42] It was canceled in January 2014.[43] She was later added as a co-host to the show TakePart Live on the same channel, appearing with Jacob Soboroff beginning in May 2014.[43][44] The show was cancelled in December 2014.[45]

She signed on as a Fox News contributor in July 2015 and was named a regular co-host of the afternoon talk program Outnumbered on November 14, 2016.[46] Following her departure from both the program and the network in September 2017,[47] McCain was named a permanent co-host of the ABC daytime talk show The View.[48] She made her debut on the October 9, 2017 episode.[49] She had previously guest co-hosted the show in 2008 and 2010.[50][51]

Political positions
McCain at the 2008 Republican National Convention.

McCain describes herself as "a woman who despises labels and boxes and stereotypes"[52] and politically identifies as a Republican who is "liberal on social issues."[2][5] She registered as an independent voter when she was 18 years old[1] and she voted for John Kerry in the 2004 presidential election.[5] She agrees with her father's positions on global warming, stem-cell research, and supporting environmentalist legislation.[2] At first she had doubts about the 2003 invasion of Iraq but subsequently supported her father's pro-war position regarding it.[2] She has stated she is pro-life,[52] in favor of sex education and birth control.[53] She has expressed an opinion that conservatives demonstrate hypocrisy regarding abortion: "They go on and on about how evil and wrong abortion is, but don't like to talk about how easy it is to not get pregnant."[54] McCain objected to the Arizona SB1070 anti-illegal immigration law, which her father supported.[55] In terms of economic policy, she once remarked on The Rachel Maddow Show: "I didn't even take econ[omics] in college. I don't completely understand it so I'd hate to make a comment one way or the other. That's—truly of all the things—I keep reading and I just don't understand it."[56] In the 2016 presidential election, she did not vote for Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump, instead writing in Evan McMullin.[57]

McCain has campaigned for gay rights, and she has commented that the cause of the gay community for equality is "one of the ones closest to my heart." In this way, she spoke at the Log Cabin Republicans convention in April 2009,[52] describing her cultural and political perspectives with the declaration: "I am concerned about the environment. I love to wear black. I think government is best when it stays out of people's lives and business as much as possible. I love punk rock. I believe in a strong national defense. I have a tattoo. I believe government should always be efficient and accountable. I have lots of gay friends. And, yes, I am a Republican."[20] She supports same-sex marriage and gay adoption.[52] In June 2009, McCain posed for the NOH8 Campaign, a celebrity photo project that protests California's Proposition 8 constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage, which her mother Cindy also posed for.[58] She was in favor of repealing "Don't ask, don't tell" and allowing gays and lesbians to serve openly in the U.S. military, a position her father adopted prior to his 2008 presidential run.[28][59] She also co-hosted GLAAD's Concert for Love and Acceptance in Nashville in 2015.[60] In June 2020 McCain criticized Pride marches that are taking place amidst the COVID-19 pandemic.[61] McCain described the Trump administration's ban on transgender service as "indefensible," "un-American," and "discriminatory."[62]

On September 1, 2018, she delivered a eulogy at her father's funeral at Washington National Cathedral. In an emotional eulogy to her father, McCain mourned her father's passing as the "passing of American greatness, the real thing." In what was widely seen as a sharp rebuke of Donald Trump, McCain remarked: "The America of John McCain has no need to be made great again because America was always great."[63]

Personal life

In July 2017, McCain became engaged to conservative writer and commentator Ben Domenech. They were married on November 21, 2017, at McCain's family ranch in Sedona, Arizona.[64] In July 2019, McCain revealed that she and her husband had miscarried a child earlier that year.[65] In March 2020, McCain announced that she and her husband are expecting again.[66]

Awards and nominations
Year Award Category Nominated Work Result Ref.
2014 GLAAD Media Award Outstanding Talk Show Episode Raising McCain Nominated [67]
2018 Daytime Emmy Award Outstanding Entertainment Talk Show Host
(shared with Joy Behar, Jedediah Bila, Paula Faris, Whoopi Goldberg, Sara Haines, and Sunny Hostin)		 The View Nominated [68]
2019 Outstanding Entertainment Talk Show Host
(shared with Joy Behar, Whoopi Goldberg, Sara Haines, Sunny Hostin, and Abby Huntsman)		 Nominated [69]
2020 Outstanding Informative Talk Show Host
(shared with Joy Behar, Whoopi Goldberg, Sunny Hostin, Abby Huntsman, and Ana Navarro)		 Nominated [70]

Writings
  • McCain, Meghan (2008), My Dad, John McCain, Aladdin Paperbacks. ISBN 1-4169-7528-4
  • McCain, Meghan (2010), Dirty Sexy Politics, Hyperion. ISBN 1-4013-2377-4
  • McCain, Meghan and Michael Ian Black (2012), America, You Sexy Bitch: A Love Letter to Freedom Da Capo Press. ISBN 0-307-99023-0
gollark: Wait, can we have an animated dodecahedron emoji?
gollark: You can't just *ignore* the majority of my applications, that's <:bees:724389994663247974>.
gollark: Er, copy it.
gollark: Can you type it here?
gollark: Which one's that?

See also

References
  1. McCain, Meghan (June 12, 2008). "Republican". McCain Blogette. Archived from the original on August 22, 2008. Retrieved June 13, 2008.
  2. Raeves, Meston (February 23, 2008). "Meghan McCain's Straight Blog Express". Los Angeles Times.
  3. McAfee, Tierney (October 23, 2017). "John McCain Gets Emotional with Daughter Meghan About Brain Cancer – And Her Boyfriend". People. Retrieved November 22, 2017. Sen. John McCain appeared on The View on Monday [October 23, 2017], to help his daughter, co-host Meghan McCain, celebrate her 33rd birthday...
  4. Scherer, Michael (December 17, 2007). "Meghan McCain is not Chelsea Clinton". Salon.com.
  5. Veis, Greg (March 18, 2008). "Raising McCain". GQ. Archived from the original on April 3, 2008.
  6. Capecchi, Christina (November 3, 2008). "'McCain Blogette' shows family life with political Dad". MinnPost. Retrieved March 8, 2020.
  7. "Meghan McCain's Blogette". CBS News. March 27, 2008. Retrieved March 8, 2020.
  8. MacDonald, Kate. "Meghan McCain shows readers the darker side of politics". Massachusetts Daily Collegian. Retrieved July 5, 2019.
  9. Tani, Maxwell (May 10, 2019). "Meghan McCain Is Shopping a Book About Her Father". Retrieved July 5, 2019.
  10. Schillinger, Liesl (September 10, 2010). "Daughter of John McCain Is a Rebel". The New York Times.
  11. "McCainBlogette.com". McCainBlogette.com. Retrieved October 17, 2010.
  12. "Meghan McCain on The Daily Beast". The Daily Beast. Retrieved November 17, 2011.
  13. McCain, Meghan (March 9, 2009). "My Beef With Ann Coulter". The Daily Beast. Retrieved December 21, 2012.
  14. Corley, Matt (March 9, 2009). "Laura Ingraham mocks Meghan McCain as being 'plus-sized.'". Thinkprogress.org. Retrieved November 17, 2011.
  15. Meghan McCain (March 14, 2009). "Quit Talking About My Weight, Laura Ingraham". Thedailybeast.com. Retrieved November 17, 2011.
  16. Thomson, Katherine (March 16, 2009). "Meghan McCain On 'The View': 'Kiss My Fat Ass!'" (video). The Huffington Post. Retrieved March 22, 2009.
  17. "Ingraham to Meghan McCain: You're a 'useful idiot'". CNN. March 17, 2009. Retrieved March 17, 2009.
  18. "Meghan McCain: 'I support the president'". CNN. March 24, 2009. Retrieved November 17, 2011.
  19. Libit, Daniel (April 11, 2009). "Crashing the Republican Party". The Politico. Retrieved April 17, 2009.
  20. Sinderbrand, Rebecca (April 18, 2009). "Meghan McCain warns of looming civil war in the GOP". CNN. Retrieved April 18, 2009.
  21. Sindebrand, Rebecca (April 20, 2009). "Meghan McCain: Karl Rove's a 'twitter creep'". CNN. Retrieved April 20, 2009.
  22. Nintzel, Jim (April 20, 2009). "Meghan McCain Has That Maverick Gene". Tucson Weekly. Retrieved April 20, 2009.
  23. "'The Rachel Maddow Show' for Wednesday, March 11". The Rachel Maddow Show. NBC News. March 12, 2009. Retrieved May 25, 2009.
  24. Parker, Kathleen. "Another McCain Throws Down a Challenge", The Washington Post (March 25, 2009). Retrieved May 25, 2009.
  25. Sinderbrand, Rebecca (April 29, 2009). "Limbaugh to Specter: Please take McCain with you". CNN. Retrieved April 30, 2009.
  26. Mooney, Alexander (May 19, 2009). "Meghan McCain takes aim at GOP, Bristol Palin's abstinence tour". CNN. Retrieved May 19, 2009.
  27. Kirchik, James (July 15, 2009). "Meghan McCain: Joe the Plumber – you can quote me – is a dumbass". The New Republic. Retrieved July 15, 2009.
  28. "Meghan McCain on Mom's NoH8 Pic". The Advocate. February 7, 2010. Archived from the original on February 9, 2010. Retrieved February 7, 2010.
  29. Shen, Maxine (August 20, 2009). "Meghan McCain liked 'View'". New York Post. Retrieved September 17, 2009.
  30. "September 4, 2010: Saturday's Show". Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me. NPR. September 4, 2010. Retrieved September 4, 2010.
  31. McCain, Dirty Sexy Politics, p. 5.
  32. McCain, Dirty Sexy Politics, p. 7.
  33. McCain, Dirty Sexy Politics, pp. 12–14.
  34. Victor Stepien, "The Brashness of Youth", Out & About Newspaper, December 3, 2010.
  35. "Meghan McCain's Dirty, Sexy Politics". New Ledger. Archived from the original on November 23, 2011. Retrieved November 17, 2011.
  36. Brennan, Chris (September 24, 2010). "Meghan McCain Takes Heat For Vegas Vs. Juniata College". Philadelphia Daily News.
  37. "Meghan McCain: Impossible to go through Grief Process". CNN.com. May 30, 2019. Retrieved July 4, 2020.
  38. "Talking about death and dying doesn't have to be difficult". sfchronicle.com/. December 4, 2019. Retrieved June 29, 2020.
  39. McKay, Hollie (November 29, 2011). "Chelsea Clinton and Meghan McCain Join NBC News: Do Political Kids Make Good Journalists?". Fox News. Retrieved November 17, 2011.
  40. "'Lean Stupid': MSNBC Hires Meghan McCain". Gawker.com. November 2, 2011. Archived from the original on November 8, 2011. Retrieved November 17, 2011.
  41. Lee, MJ (May 29, 2012). "Meghan McCain dishes in new book". Politico. Retrieved May 31, 2012.
  42. Stelter, Brian (July 29, 2013). "Pivot TV Pitches to Young Viewers". The New York Times. Retrieved July 30, 2013.
  43. Molloy, Tim (January 11, 2014). "Pivot Ending 'Raising McCain,' 'Jersey Strong' (Exclusive)". The Wrap. Retrieved July 25, 2014.
  44. Wiegand, David (May 11, 2014). "Meghan McCain eager to co-host news talk on 'Take Part Live'". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved July 25, 2014.
  45. Flood, Brian (December 9, 2014). "'TakePart Live' Gets Axed by Pivot". Mediabistro.
  46. Brian Steinberg (October 8, 2016). "Meghan McCain Will Co-Host Fox News Channel's 'Outnumbered'". Variety. Retrieved November 14, 2016.
  47. Wagmeister, Elizabeth (September 27, 2017). "It's Official: 'The View' Adds Meghan McCain as Conservative Co-Host". Variety. Archived from the original on February 10, 2018. Retrieved October 6, 2017.
  48. Steinberg, Brian (October 9, 2017). "Meghan McCain Joins ABC's 'The View'". Variety. Archived from the original on January 24, 2018. Retrieved February 24, 2018.
  49. "Meghan McCain joins 'The View' as new co-host". ABC News. October 9, 2017. Archived from the original on February 20, 2018. Retrieved October 9, 2017.
  50. "Meghan McCain joins 'The View' as new co-host". ABC News. October 9, 2017. Retrieved October 9, 2017.
  51. Heil, Emily. "Meghan McCain joins ABC's 'The View' as a co-host". Washington Post. Retrieved October 9, 2017.
  52. McCain, Meghan (July 14, 2017). "Memo to the GOP: Go Gay". The Daily Beast. Retrieved March 8, 2020.
  53. Berman, Judy (May 19, 2009). "Meghan McCain: "Pro-sex, pro-life, pro-gay marriage"". Salon.com. Archived from the original on July 15, 2011. Retrieved October 17, 2010.
  54. Levingston, Steven (September 1, 2010). "Review of 'Dirty Sexy Politics,' by Meghan McCain". The Washington Post. Retrieved October 17, 2010.
  55. "Meghan McCain – Immigration Law in Arizona Divides Daughter and Dad". National Ledger. April 28, 2010. Retrieved May 5, 2010.
  56. "Meghan McCain: "I Just Don't Understand" Economy". ABC News. March 13, 2009.
  57. Jessie Hellmann (November 3, 2016). "Meghan McCain: I voted for McMullin". The Hill.
  58. McCain, Meghan (June 19, 2009). "Why I Posed Against Prop 8". The Daily Beast. Retrieved June 21, 2009.
  59. Richert, Catherine (February 4, 2010). "On whether he supports 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell.'". PolitiFact. Retrieved March 8, 2020.
  60. "The Voice' runner-up Meghan Linsey announced as performer at Concert for Love and Acceptance May 29, 2015. GLAAD
  61. www.foxnews.com
  62. Meghan McCain Condemns Trump's Transgender Military Ban Days Before Policy's Implementation: 'Indefensible,' 'Discriminatory' and 'Un-American'
  63. "'America was always great': Meghan McCain rebukes Trump". Retrieved September 2, 2017.
  64. Triggs, Charlotte. "Meghan McCain and Ben Domenech Are Married". People. Retrieved November 21, 2017.
  65. McCain, Meghan (July 19, 2019). "Meghan McCain: What I Learned From My Micarriage". The New York Times. Retrieved July 19, 2019.
  66. "Meghan McCain Expecting First Child After Suffering Miscarriage & Is Isolating During Coronavirus". PEOPLE.com. Retrieved March 22, 2020.
  67. Gouttebroze, Max (January 30, 2014). "Meghan McCain on #glaadawards nomination: 'This is hands down one of the great honors of my career'". GLAAD. Retrieved May 24, 2018.
  68. Evans, Greg (March 22, 2017). "2017 Daytime Emmy Nominations: CBS Leads Networks With 70 Noms, 'Young & Restless' Tops With 25". Retrieved March 24, 2017.
  69. "THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF TELEVISION ARTS & SCIENCES ANNOUNCES NOMINATIONS FOR THE 46th ANNUAL DAYTIME EMMY® AWARDS" (PDF). March 20, 2019. Retrieved March 25, 2019.
  70. Nordyke, Kimberly; Howard, Annie (May 21, 2020). "Daytime Emmy Awards: 'General Hospital' Tops Nominations". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved May 22, 2020.
Media offices
Preceded by
Jedediah Bila
Candace Cameron Bure
Raven-Symoné		 The View co-host
2017–present		 Succeeded by
Incumbent
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