Meghan McCain: I Hate America Without My Father’s Leadership

Meghan McCain, co-host of ABC’s The View and daughter of the late Sen. John McCain (R-AZ), told CNN’s Van Jones in an interview broadcast Saturday that she hates the United States without her father’s leadership.

A partial transcript is as follows:

VAN JONES: What have you learned about grieving, and what have you learned since your father passed that you wish more Americans who, all of us faces at some point, knew?

MEGHAN MCCAIN: The first thing I have to say is that I’m surrounded with support. Everywhere I go, somebody has an antidote they want to tell me about my dad and it’s a gift to have that because he’s always present in me, he’s clearly present in a lot of other people’s lives, as well. I try not to feel bad for myself, because I just don’t, I think he would be terribly pissed if I walked around that way, anyway. But, I learned that grief is a very toxic taboo subject. It makes people very uncomfortable, and I am almost five months out since he passed, and I’m sad every single day. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with sharing that. I have moments where I think that I just can’t do anything anymore without him, and it’s a weird place to be in, in so many different ways. As a daughter, I’m grieving and I’m sad.

As an American, I hate this country without him in it. I know that sounds awful. I don’t hate America but I just hate it without his leadership. And, I’m very sad all the time, and I’m struggling with that sadness. I miss him in ways I never could have even fathomed, and then I try and say “What would my dad say?” He’d say “We are McCains and we don’t feel sorry for ourselves, and we’re blessed. Get up and keep fighting, Meghan.” That’s what I kind of do every day, and some days are better than others.

JONES: You’re not the only person missing John McCain. This vacuum is so pronounced because of this wall, the shutdown, all this sort of stuff. I’m hearing now that you’re saying, you’re not really calling yourself a Republican anymore.

MCCAIN: I call myself a conservative. I’m still a member of the Republican Party. I still vote on the Republican ticket., butt Republicanism is so tied up with being for Trump. But, I’m also not a Never Trumper. Trump didn’t melt my brain. I can still see the forrest from the trees and didn’t exsponge all my conservative principles out of me. Our friend S.E. Cupp, women like us are trying to navigate this right now because I understand Trump supporters, I understand why they voted for him. I also understand why people think he’s tearing this country apart and the end times are coming. There was a blood-red moon a few days ago. Apparently it’s a symbol of the end of the world, and I was like “well, seems about right.” Honestly, I’m just trying to survive in a lot of different ways and politically as well right now. To me, when I grew up, conservativsm and character, my father was like really, really, I would say, militant about character. And now it seems like lying, well, it’s okay, it’s a little nebulous. Stealing, it’s a little nebulous. I just don’t think those are American characteristics. It scares me, a lot.