A conversation activated The view on the Asian American representation in Joe Biden’s cabinet became personal on Wednesday when Meghan McCain took the opportunity to express her fears that the “identity policy” could leave her unemployed.
All members of the program panel seemed to agree that it was entirely appropriate for Democratic Senators Tammy Duckworth and Mazie Hirono to demand the diversity of the Biden administration from its high-level staff, with Sunny Hostin saying that “no I saw nothing wrong with it ”and Sara Haines defined it as“ the right thing to do ”.
But when it was McCain’s turn, he said he “really believes” that only the “most skilled” people should head departments “such as national security and infrastructure, things that are literally the meat and potatoes they make.” that the country is great “.
“I think what makes the United States exceptional is the fact that we are a meritocracy, that you can be anything,” he continued, arguing that he completely ruled out the existence of systemic racism. “That you can come from anywhere and go to success at any level. And I think the question we Democrats need to reconcile right now is whether race and gender are more important than qualification. “
If there is someone “more qualified to be a white, heterosexual person who has more experience” in their field than a “less experienced minority,” McCain wondered, should that matter? After a digression on Asian American students allegedly discriminated against by Harvard and a warning about a “slippery slope,” she inevitably made the discussion about herself.
“Just to put a limit to this, The view he is 25 next year. We’ve only had one Asian American host co-host this show, ”McCain said, referring to Lisa Ling, who spent three years on the show from 1999 to 2002.“ It means, then, that one of us should to leave because there is not enough representation? Is identity politics more important than qualifications for the job? And I think it is a future issue that the progressive left will have to reconcile. “
After a hiatus, Hostin fired directly at his host, noting that while “we would love for this country to be a meritocracy,” the reality is that it never has been.
“It’s not about gender and race being more important than qualifications,” Hostin said. “It’s about the fact that there are a lot of qualified women and minority candidates who never get the chance because of the advancement of generally white male mediocrity, because of things like legacy.”
The irony, of course, is that Meghan McCain’s “identity” as the daughter of the late Senator John McCain, which she continues to show on the show, has played a pivotal role in her media career. But it seemed to imply that while she got her gig based solely on “merit,” the same could not be said for any Asian-American co-host who could imaginatively replace her.
Like CNN’s Abby Phillip he tweeted in response, “There have been more View co-hosts who are children of famous people than Asian co-hosts. Do you really think it’s because there aren’t enough properly qualified Asian people?”
And if McCain’s defensive complaints on Wednesday sounded strangely specific, it’s because there have been multiple calls per The view to replace her specifically with a fellow Asian-American cohabitation in the last few days after John Oliver exposed the hypocrisy of posting #StopAsianHate after defending Donald Trump’s use of racist terms like “China virus” almost exactly a year earlier.
McCain finally apologized the next day Last week tonight issued segment, piulant, “I condemn the reprehensible violence and vitriol directed at the Asian American community. There is no doubt that Donald Trump’s racist rhetoric fueled many of these attacks and I apologize for previous comments that helped this agenda. “
Now, obviously, he worries that there won’t be enough to save his job.