A conversation about In cash on Asian American representation in Joe Biden’s office became personal on Wednesday, when Meghan McCain took the opportunity to express her fears that “identity politics” could leave her without a job.
Each of the program’s panel members seemed to agree that it was entirely appropriate for Democratic Senators Tammy Duckworth and Mazie Hirono to require the Biden administration to diversify its high-level team, with Sunny Hostin saying “he saw nothing wrong with it” and Sara Haines calling it “the right thing to do”.
But when it was McCain’s turn to speak, she said she “really believes” that only the “most qualified” people should run departments “like national security and infrastructure, things that are literally the meat and potatoes that make the country big”.
“I believe that what makes America exceptional is the fact that we are a meritocracy, that you can be anything,” she continued, making an argument that completely ruled out the existence of systemic racism. “That you can come from anywhere and go and succeed in any capacity. And I think the question Democrats need to reconcile with now is whether race and gender are more important than qualification. ”
If there is someone who is “more qualified, who happens to be a straight white person who has more experience” in their field than a “minority with less experience”, McCain wondered, should that matter? After a tour of Asian American students allegedly discriminated against by Harvard and a warning about a “slippery slope”, she inevitably made the argument about herself.
“Just to put a limit on that, In cash 25 years next year. We only had one Asian-American presenter co-present this program, ”said McCain, referring to Lisa Ling, who spent three years on the 1999-2002 program. “So does this mean that one of us should leave because there is not enough representation? Is identity policy more important than job qualifications? And I think that this is an issue that the progressive left will have to reconcile ”.
After a pause, Hostin responded directly to his co-host, noting that, although “we all love that this country was a meritocracy”, the reality is that it never was.
“It’s not about gender and race being more important than qualifications,” said Hostin. “It’s about the fact that there are many qualified women and minority candidates who never have the opportunity because of the advancement of male mediocrity that is generally white, because of things like the legacy.”
The irony, of course, is that Meghan McCain’s “identity” as the daughter of the late Senator John McCain – something she never fails to mention on the show – played a decisive role in her media career. But she seemed to be suggesting that, while she got her job purely on the basis of “merit”, the same could not be said of any Asian-American co-presenter who could replace her.
As Abby Phillip of CNN tweeted in response, “There were more View co-hosts who are children of famous people than View co-hosts who are Asian. Does she really think it is because there are not enough Asians with the right qualifications? “
And if McCain’s defensive complaints on Wednesday sounded strangely specific, it’s because there were several calls for In cash to replace her specifically with an Asian-American co-host in the past few days after John Oliver exposed the hypocrisy of his #StopAsianHate post after advocating Donald Trump’s use of racist terms like “China virus” almost exactly a year earlier.
McCain finally issued an apology the next day Last week tonight outdoor segment, tweeting, “I condemn the reprehensible violence and vitriol that have been directed at the Asian American community. There is no doubt that Donald Trump’s racist rhetoric has fueled many of these attacks and I apologize for any previous comments that have helped that agenda. “
Now, she is evidently concerned that it will not be enough to save her job.