Meghan McCain and Whoopi Goldberg Clash Over Iran: “I Am Not Mad That Soleimani is Killed”

The View may have been cut off by President Trump’s Iran address, but that didn’t stop the co-hosts from getting in a quick fight before ABC turned things over. On Wednesday morning, the panel discussed last night’s missile strikes at U.S. military bases in Iraq, but Meghan McCain‘s self-proclaimed “hawkish” tendencies once again derailed the conversation. McCain insisted that Americans should “take a beat” and see how Trump reacts to Iran’s missile strike, as she believes the United States is still in control in this situation. “People say, ‘Don’t poke the bear,'” she said. “We’re the bear. Don’t poke us, either.”

Trump’s address was scheduled for 11 am ET, but because it was delayed, The View hosts were able to get in two full Hot Topics segments, as well as a few minutes of time with guest Andrew Yang. In the first segment, the panel discussed Iran’s attack on two air bases in Iraq, which many interpreted as another step towards full-blown war. Sunny Hostin expressed concern about her son, who is almost 18, saying, “I started looking up the rules of the draft.” The co-hosts agreed, with Abby Huntsman adding that she doesn’t believe “history will say that killing this terrorist was the right move.”

McCain then jumped in and attempted to ease the panel’s anxiety. “I’m going to give you two things that should make people feel just a little bit better today,” she said, noting that Iran’s foreign minister tweeted that they “do not seek escalation of war” with the United States. “If you know Iran’s capabilities, they more than 100% have the capability to kill American lives last night in every possible way, and decided not to … I don’t believe that Iran, it’s in their interest to continue escalating this.”

“People say, ‘Don’t poke the bear,'” continued McCain. “I think it’s easy to forget, America’s the bear. We’re the bear. Don’t poke us, either. And I’m still not sad that this guy is out.”

“I know the cost of war. I have friends who have lost limbs, I have friends who have committed suicide when they came back,” she added. “But I also know that right now, we should all take a pause, take a beat, and see what President Trump does. Because right now, as far as I’m concerned, it could have been a hell of a lot worse last night than what Iran did.”

After the commercial break, McCain took off the gloves and began sparring with Whoopi Goldberg about Soleimani’s killing. “They have been harassing us for a long time,” said the conservative host. Goldberg noted that the United States has also been provocative towards Iran, citing Trump backing out of the Iran deal as an example. “American civilians were killed, and unlike in the Obama administration, President Trump made threats on Twitter,” replied McCain. “It’s a complete and total paradigm shift.”

“I understand all that!” said Goldberg. “I want to know what the imminent threat was.” (The Trump administration cited an “imminent threat” from Iran as the reason for Soleimani’s killing). McCain reiterated that Iran targeted “American civilians,” but the women continued to talk over each other.

“Listen, I’m incredibly hawkish. I always have been. It’s a cornerstone of my political perspective,” said McCain, finally cutting into the conversation. “I am not mad that Soleimani is killed.”

Goldberg attempted to calm her down, saying, “No one is mad!” She continued, “Let me say this so that we’re all really clear. No one is saying that we’re really disappointed that he was killed. That’s not what we’re saying.”

A few seconds later, Goldberg sent the show to commercial. “We’ll come back and do more. We’ll be back,” said the longtime moderator. “Yay,” replied McCain in the world’s most sarcastic voice. At least they only had to make it through 25 minutes today.

Watch The View‘s Iran discussion in the clip above.

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