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Whoopi steps in during tense exchange between Meghan McCain and Warnock on ‘The View’
“The View” got off to a rocky start Wednesday as Whoopi Goldberg and co-hosts of the daytime talk show welcomed Senator-elect Rev. Raphael Warnock following his historic win in the Georgia U.S. Senate runoff.
Warnock, the first Black Senator elected to represent Georgia, said he was “deeply honored” to have been elected by the state’s citizens and looks forward to being “a force for good” in pulling Americans together during a time of deep political and racial divide, according to video posted online.
The Atlanta pastor also talked about his plans as a new U.S. Senator, with a focus on getting a handle on the COVID-19 pandemic and getting aid to families in need. However, the interview took a turn when conservative pundit and co-host Meghan McCain attempted to grill Warnock on packing the Supreme Court.
“Your colleague [Sen.] Joe Manchin has joined with Republicans to reject those ideas,” she began. “Will you do the same thing as Joe Manchin and agree not to follow up on all of those things?”
Warnock skirted the question and said average voters weren’t concerned with those issues, but McCain didn’t let up, video shows.
“Senator, I understand that. I’m just asking you a direct question. I just wanted to know if you would join ...” McCain continued, talking over Goldberg as she attempted to throw the show to commercial.
“Actually, I am going to end this. Hey, listen! We are going to say thanks to the Senator-elect Rev. Raphael Warnock, and we will be right back,” Goldberg said, cutting the interview short. “Thanks for coming back, sir.”
The tense moment sparked a torrent of reactions from viewers.
“Meghan McCain is already knocking Senator Raphael Warnock on The View,” one Twitter user commented on the incident. “Luckily, patriot Whoopi Goldberg cut her off and put Meghan in her place.”
“Ohhhh, Whoopi just did the hand slap that my mom used to do if I tried to ask her if someone could spend the night in front of the kid I wanted to sleep over,” someone else joked, adding: “No slumber parties for Megan McCain today.”
Later on in the show, a producer appeared to explain what caused the awkward moment and dispelled rumors of “tension” on set.
“We didn’t have the Senator-Elect from the beginning of the show, which threw everything off,” the producer explained, according to a clip from the show’s final segment. “Several other people were yelling in Whoopi’s ear, ‘We have to go to break. We have to go to break,’ which is why the next segments were very short, and there’s a delay and a bunch of other things. No issues here, no drama here.”
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