"You saying that the Republican party is trash, I don't care. It's not revelatory," McCain fired at Behar during the heated exchange.
Even though Meghan McCain and Joy Behar agreed Rep. Matt Gaetz should be removed from his committees following sex trafficking accusations, that didn't stop the two from going at each other in an argument even Whoopi Goldberg could do little to halt.
The first topic of the day on "The View" was the plea deal Gaetz's longtime friend Joel Greenberg agreed to -- which many believe will implicate Gaetz as federal investigators continue to look into whether the Republican representative broke federal sex trafficking, public corruption and prostitution laws and if he had sex with a minor. So far, Gaetz has not been charged and continues to deny the allegations.
WILL FORMER GAETZ ASSOCIATE TURN ON HIM? After Rep. Matt Gaetz’s former ally Joel Greenberg pled guilty to sex trafficking charges and agreed to cooperate with prosecutors, the co-hosts discuss as the congressman denies any wrongdoing. https://t.co/UX4lcdadA2 pic.twitter.com/aY9QCZxPry
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Both Sunny Hostin and Sara Haines agreed that Gaetz should be "extremely worried" following Greenberg's deal. Haines said she believed there was already enough to have him removed from his committees, pointing to CNN allegations that Gaetz showed photos and videos of nude women to other lawmakers while on the House floor. He has not commented on those claims.
"I think the fact he did that at work, if I did anything like that at my job, I would be terminated immediately, so why should that be acceptable at the highest elected office in the people's House?" she asked. "He's got a lot to be afraid of."
Whoopi then wondered why the GOP was standing by Gaetz through this, something which got Behar all heated up.
"Well, because the only sin that you commit in the Republican party these days is if you say Biden won the election. Everything else is fine," she said. "He's out there having fun, enjoying himself, making jokes because he feels like he has cover in the Republican party because, as I said, they don't care what you do there as long as you say Trump won the election."
"Look at what happened to Liz Cheney," she added. "They're not even removing him from his positions. What does that say about the family values party? Not much."
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View StoryMcCain hit back when it was her time to talk, saying she has many "family members and good friends" who work in Republican politics. "And trust me, the Republican party and people on Capitol Hill are embarrassed about this."
"I think have a lot better sourcing on that than you do, Joy, no offense," she added, before joking that Gaetz's lawyer looked like Jeff Bridges in "The Big Lebowski."
"It's super disgusting, he should go to jail, it's super embarrassing. I have nothing else to add," she then said of Gaetz. "It's gross, he's a deeply unserious person, he should be removed from his committees. There are some people on the left that I think should be removed from their committees for some of the things they've said about Israel ... Matt Gaetz is a pervert that should go to jail, okay, the end."
Behar admitted McCain was "right" in knowing more about the inner workings of the Republican party than she does and then asked her cohost a question.
"My question is, if it's not the Republican party, should I call it the QAnon party? What should I call your party now, who defends people like Matt Gaetz and goes against Liz Cheney? What are we supposed to call it?"
"I think you can call it whatever you want, because your influence in the Republican party is almost zero," McCain hit back. "Again, as I've said on this show, it is for us to figure out amongst ourselves."
"What Republican is like, 'Joy Behar doesn't like my party? Oh god, I better stop voting for them now,'" she continued, before admitting she likely doesn't have any influence on the left herself.
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View StoryAs McCain continued to say Republicans were "embarrassed" by Gaetz, Behar rephrased her question, asking why they don't simply "get rid of him." Meghan said it was likely because no formal charges have been brought on him yet, with Joy saying they had no problem removing Cheney from her position for simply speaking out against Trump.
"You saying that the Republican party is trash, I don't care. It's not revelatory," McCain responded, as Whoopi tried to get them to stop talking. "You say it every single day. Every single day. Oh my god, how revelatory!"
With Goldberg unable to break it up and get in a legal note from Hostin, the show went to break. Sunny reiterated that Gaetz has not been charged with any crimes and has so far denied any wrongdoing when the show returned from commercial.