Meghan McCain once again finds herself at the center of online controversy, this time for complaining that demands for more diversity in President Biden’s administration are simply a “natural progression of identity politics.”
On Wednesday’s episode of “The View,” the co-hosts discussed Democratic Illinois Sen. Tammy Duckworth’s recent pledge to vote no on “all non-diversity nominees” until Asian Americans are named to more high-level positions in the Biden administration. Duckworth told CBS News, “We don’t have anybody either (at a senior level) in the West Wing or in a cabinet-level position, and I don’t think that’s a good message to send to a significant portion of our nation’s population — a population that’s really hurting right now after a year of being under attack.”
21-year-old Robert Aaron Long went on a shooting spree in Atlanta and killed eight people, six of whom were Asian-American women, last week.
On Wednesday, McCain directed a question to her fellow co-hosts and viewers: “We’ve only had one Asian American host co-host this show. Does that mean one of us should be leaving because there’s not enough representation?”
McCain fretted that someone who is “more qualified who happens to be a white straight person who has more experience” in their field may lose out on opportunities to a “minority with less experience.”
In response, Sunny Hostin pointed out “it’s not about gender and race being more important than qualifications” it is about “the fact that there are many qualified women and minority candidates that never get the opportunity because of the advancement of generally white male mediocrity.”
Sunny to Meghan McCain: "It's not about gender and race being more important than qualifications. It's about the fact that they're MANY qualified women & minority candidates that never get the opportunity because of the advancement of generally white male mediocrity." 🔥#TheView pic.twitter.com/kFWJjf2eUV
— Live On The Chat (@LiveOnTheChat) March 24, 2021
Others on Twitter have taken McCain to task for the comment:
There have been more View co-hosts who are children of famous people than view co-hosts who are Asian. Does she really think that's because there aren't enough Asian people with the right qualifications? https://t.co/y5MGiQRtDD
— Abby D. Phillip (@abbydphillip) March 24, 2021
Whew: this is an interesting take in many fronts. First: does Ms. McCain think she is qualified for this job or could it be possible that her bold face name late father opened those doors? Why does increasing diversity in Ms. McCain’s mind correlate with not ‘qualified’? https://t.co/S8UcG21huN
— Soledad O'Brien (@soledadobrien) March 24, 2021
She says this so unironically. There are so many women more qualified for this seat at The View than Meghan McCain – and yet, there she is. pic.twitter.com/GxY20cSjKP
— Shannon Watts (@shannonrwatts) March 24, 2021
Racism is also being directed at yet another group: Black farmers, a group mentioned in McCain’s bizzarre rant. The Biden’s recently passed American Rescue Plan sets aside $5 billion in aid, mainly debt relief, directed to Black farmers, who have historically been discriminated against by the U.S. government, in particular. That has bothered many Republicans and right-wing commentators like McCain.
Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., decried the relief as “reparations.”
Black farmer: Lindsey Graham must apologize for 'racist' comment about subsidies kept from farmers of color for years https://t.co/iBHtBflEQq
— Dr. John W. Boyd, Jr. (@JWBoydNBFA) March 15, 2021
During an appearance on MSNBC’s “PoliticsNation with Al Sharpton”, John Boyd Jr., the president of the National Black Farmers Association called Graham out.
“I’ve been by his office and asked him to help me fix the problems at the United States Department of Agriculture that caused Black farmers to lose millions of acres of land and address the lack of loans and subsidies,” he said
He added: “He’s never once used his megaphone to speak out against the discrimination.”
In the latest of attacks against Black farmers, Steven Crowder, a conservative commentator also made a horrifically racist reference to slavery.
