Meghan McCain is firing back at her former The View co-host Joy Behar after the longtime ABC personality made new comments about difficult colleagues, reopening a feud that has continued for years after McCain’s departure.
McCain, 41, responded over the weekend after Behar, 84, suggested that some former members of the daytime talk show’s panel had behaved like “mean girls.”
Rather than directly challenging the accusation, McCain took a pointed swipe at Behar’s age.
“You guys keep asking me for a response and for real, I’m not fighting with an 84 year old,” McCain wrote on X. “She can say whatever she wants at her stage in life.”
The exchange followed an October 16 interview with Vulture, in which Behar reflected on her nearly three decades with the ABC program and praised the current lineup of co-hosts.
“This group now is very good,” Behar said. “They all have a sense of humor. Nobody’s mean over there. Over the years, there’s been a couple of little mean girls.”
Although Behar did not identify anyone by name, the remarks quickly drew attention to her rocky relationship with McCain, who served as the show’s outspoken conservative voice from 2017 until 2021.
During those four years, McCain frequently challenged Behar and other panelists over politics, including their disagreements about President Donald Trump and the Republican Party.
Their exchanges sometimes became personal, with one particularly uncomfortable confrontation occurring in January 2021, shortly after McCain returned from maternity leave.
During an on-air disagreement, Behar told McCain that she had not missed her while she was away.
“I did not miss you. Zero,” Behar declared.
McCain later described the incident as deeply upsetting, particularly because she was adjusting to motherhood and struggling with postpartum anxiety.
She has said the experience played a major role in her decision to leave the program later that year.
But Behar appeared largely unmoved when the subject came up again in her recent interview.
“I thought, ‘Well, good for you if that’s the worst thing anybody said to you,'” Behar told Vulture.
The latest exchange highlights how differently the two television personalities remember their years together.
McCain has repeatedly described her experience at The View as emotionally exhausting and politically isolating.
In her 2021 memoir, Bad Republican, she criticized the show’s workplace culture and argued that the atmosphere had become increasingly difficult for her.
“The environment on the show is toxic,” McCain wrote, explaining that the situation eventually made it impossible for her to continue.
Behar, however, offered a less confrontational account of their working relationship.
“I wouldn’t say we were having dinner every night,” she told Vulture, “but we got along fine.”
Their disagreements did not end when McCain left ABC.
In 2022, another public exchange erupted after Behar appeared to support a social media user’s criticism of McCain’s Valentine’s Day tribute to her husband.
McCain responded by comparing the ongoing arguments with her former colleagues to unwanted messages from ex-partners.
Since departing The View, McCain has continued sharing her opinions on politics, entertainment and media through her podcast, Citizen McCain, and other commentary platforms.
Behar, meanwhile, remains one of the most recognizable personalities associated with the ABC daytime program, which is celebrating its 30th season.
The show has undergone numerous lineup changes since its 1997 debut, but political disagreements and clashes among its hosts have remained a defining part of its public image.
For McCain and Behar, those disagreements appear to have outlasted their time together at the table.
And while McCain insists she has no interest in another public fight with her former colleague, her latest response has brought their long-running feud back into the spotlight.
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