'They can go to hell': Meghan McCain says of those calling for 'deprogramming' Republicans
"The View" co-host Meghan McCain delivered a strong rebuke of those who have called for "deprogramming" some Republicans in the wake of President Donald Trump leaving office, saying outright that "they can go to hell" and pointing to liberal journalist Katie Couric directly.
What are the details?
Earlier this month, Couric asked HBO host Bill Maher during an interview, "How are we going to really almost deprogram these people who have signed up for the cult of Trump?"
The former co-anchor of NBC's "Today" show has faced backlash over the comment in recent days, even leading to reports that her opportunity to guest host on "Jeopardy!" might be in peril.
Fox News reported that during Monday's show of "The View," McCain "said she thought there would be a stronger desire for unity from Democrats in the aftermath of President Biden's election win, but she said the language from liberals had been more concerned with dehumanizing Trump supporters, which she called dangerous for Democrats and the country."
The outlet noted that "Couric and several others, including McCain's 'The View' colleague Sunny Hostin, have referred to Trump backers as "brainwashed" or in need of "deprogramming" in the past two weeks.
"If you don't care about unity you should care about the politics of this, because right now there is a vacuum to pick up the four people — four in ten Republicans who feel very disenfranchised," McCain said.
She added, "If President Biden and Democrats want to have a big tent party and include some of these people, great, and if we're all just deplorable and need to be reprogrammed as Katie Couric said, then honestly they can go to hell, because I don't need to be deprogrammed. I just have a different perspective on how the government should be run."
.@MeghanMcCain: "If we’re all just deplorable and need to be deprogrammed, as Katie Couric said, then honestly they… https://t.co/y2E4hrNP6P— Mary Margaret Olohan (@Mary Margaret Olohan)1611591479.0
What else?
Biden is a longtime friend of the McCain family and its late patriarch, Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.). Meghan McCain and her mother, Cindy McCain, supported Biden in his 2020 race against Trump, who was a strong critic of Sen. McCain even after he passed away from brain cancer in August 2018.
But Meghan McCain signaled Monday that calls to "deprogram" Trump supporters threatens the nation itself, saying, ""That 74 million Americans are basically irredeemable people ... I think it's horribly dangerous for the country."