Things got pretty ugly on “The View” this week as co-hosts Whoopi Goldberg and Meghan McCain locked horns on the issues of poverty and America’s raging “culture war.”
The focus of Thursday’s discussion was a poll showing that a full third of Americans see another Civil War in the foreseeable future, which co-host Sunny Hostin concurred was a definite possibility.
“They see that we’re going backwards and it’s about otherism,” Hostin said. “It’s now about immigrants and Muslims. We’re very much in that culture war.”
She went on to cite author Jon Meacham’s latest book on U.S. history, noting that this isn’t the first time children have been ripped from their families. President Donald Trump’s policy separating migrant children from their parents has sparked controversy and public protests in recent weeks.
“Black children were separated from their families throughout centuries,” Hostin continued. “Let’s face it, a second Civil War, we are in the grasp of a Civil War now. A culture war.”
Co-host Joy Behar chimed in, saying she believes white, racist elites are afraid that Black and brown people will soon be the majority and are, in turn, stoking the “racist fears” of their supporters. Behar noted that similar fears are taking hold in Europe, particularly in Italy, which has seen an increase in African migrants seeking asylum.
“It’s all fear-based … It’s so upsetting to see it happening there,” she said. “There’s fear-mongering going on at the top. They’re telling people, ‘Oh they’re coming from Africa, and they are going to take over your country.’ It’s so sickening to see this happen, and this is what is driving it. It’s fear, fear, fear. So, remember that.”
Conservative co-host Megan McCain cut in to say she was glad to see her fellow panelists finally agree that America is in the midst of a culture war because that wasn’t always the case. Whoopi said she still disagreed, however.
“Some of this is about race,” McCain began. “I think we can concede this, but a lot of this is about poverty — which again, seems to be missed in the mainstream media. When you are living in a tiny town in America and your coal mine or steel mine went under, and an opiate addiction is raging in your town, and you can’t pay your insurance, and you can’t pay –”
“It sounds like Black people, you know?” fellow host Whoopi Goldberg said, interjecting. “I don’t mean that in a crazy way.”
Clearly hurt, McCain accused Goldberg of taking a “cheap shot” while she was in the middle of making her point.
“I’m trying to explain,” she said.
“Oh, no, no, no. I know what you were trying to do,” Goldberg, who grew up in poverty, interrupted again. “I get it. That’s why I said it with a smile because people — poor people are everywhere. It’s not just whites.”
When McCain tried to explain that she’s actually visited such poverty-stricken places, Goldberg replied, “So have I, Meghan. We’ve both been there. We know.”
Watch more in the video above.
