Meghan McCain Rips Joy Behar in Fiery Fight: “You Disagree That I’m Smart?”

The View‘s Meghan McCain and Joy Behar are at it once again. On Tuesday morning, a conversation about Democratic presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg got fiery when McCain accused Behar of questioning her intelligence. The conservative co-host slammed Behar for the perceived slight, saying that the discussion was “so ridiculous.” McCain went on scoff and roll her eyes as Behar spoke, and she later said — albeit under her breath — that the discussion would have been better had moderator Whoopi Goldberg been at the panel. “I miss Whoopi when she’s not here,” muttered McCain as she shot daggers at her co-host from across the table.

Behar, who is serving as moderator during Goldberg’s absence, first introduced the segment by praising Buttigieg. “Mayor Pete Buttigieg is quickly becoming the candidate to watch,” she said, citing a Wall Street Journal/NBC poll that found that a majority of Americans “have no problem with a gay candidate.” The View‘s panel seemed to agree that Buttigieg is an excellent candidate, a sentiment that strengthened after he visited the show in late March. Even staunch conservative Abby Huntsman praised Buttigieg, saying that he is “the complete opposite of what we see in the White House right now.”

McCain then pivoted the discussion back to the WSJ/NBC poll, explaining that the survey reveals that voters are “enthusiastic” to support black, female, and gay candidates. “It’s not nearly as taboo as old adages may have thought,” said McCain. “What I also found fascinating — at the very, very, very bottom, only 25% of Americans are comfortable with a socialist becoming president.” Behar then jumped in, saying, “When they realize what that means, they’ll come around.”

And with that, things took a turn for the dramatic. “People are smart,” McCain replied. “So am I,” fired back Behar. “So am I! So am I! You disagree that I’m smart?” asked McCain. Behar attempted to clarify her point, saying, “No, I disagree with the idea that socialism is a bad thing in the way that they’re describing it.” The conservative panelist didn’t seem to agree: she rolled her eyes and held up her hand, audibly scoffing all the while. Continued Behar, “The way they describe it makes it sound like we’re all going to be in Venezuela. That’s not what it is.”

“We have no more time. It’s so irres– this is so ridiculous,” said McCain. “I miss Whoopi when she’s not here.” She added that she’s “just trying to explain to [Behar] the other side, and why he’s a great candidate, and why Democratic socialists could be leading you towards the path towards Trump getting re-elected.” Continued McCain, “But instead I’m told that I don’t understand what Democratic socialism is. I assure you, Joy, I do.”

Watch McCain and Behar’s latest blow-up in the clip above.

Where to stream The View