Meghan McCain warns Nikki Haley will be 'haunted' by her defense of Confederate flag — as her father was
If you’re someone who still defends the Confederate flag, Meghan McCain says you might regret it one day.
McCain spoke out on “The View” after former United Nations ambassador Nikki Haley stirred up controversy with comments she made to conservative host Glenn Beck where she appeared to defend the controversial symbol.
Haley said that after mass shooter Dylann Roof posed with the flag, he “hijacked everything people thought of.” She added, “People saw it as service and sacrifice and heritage. Once he did that there was no way to overcome it.”
She then clarified her comments in a Washington Post op-ed, pointing out that she pushed to have the flag removed from South Carolina state buildings after the 2015 shooting, saying “Everyone knows the flag has always been a symbol of slavery, discrimination and hate for many people. But not everyone sees the flag that way.”
McCain revealed that her father, the late Sen. John McCain, felt “haunted” by his defense of the flag even after he publicly reversed his opinion.
“This plagued him up until the day he died,” said McCain. “He had two big life regrets and this was one of them. It haunted him. This will haunt her. It will. Trust me,” she added.
McCain continued, “I don’t understand why we’re still talking about it. I don’t understand why we’re still debating the Confederate flag — it’s a symbol of racism.”
“You know why?” asked co-host Joy Behar. “Because we don’t have John McCain or a ‘John McCain’ anymore. There’s nobody in the Republican leadership like him. Not one.”
Viewers took to Twitter to weigh in on the hot-button issue, and some said they agreed that there’s no place for the Confederate flag in 2019:
Thank you, Megan, for so eloquently sharing the hero that is John McCain. I'm Canadian/BL/F/75 yrs. His iconic defense of Obama was a righteous moment. His whole embrace of civil rights was warmly returned. What Haley might have been disappears in your father's grand shadow.
— HaP65 (@haP65) December 12, 2019
The confederate flag represents a group of people who committed treason by seceding from the United States and waging a war against the United States. Nikki Haley is stupid.
— Rick (@response_w) December 12, 2019
But others said there’s no issue with displaying the flag:
@MeghanMcCain you guys are so wrong on the view. That confederate flag is HISTORY. You can Erase HISTORY because you do not like. It is still HISTORY being good or bad. Shame on all of you.
— Debbie Motluck (@DMotluck) December 12, 2019
And another doubted just how “plagued” Sen. McCain really was based on his other political positions:
@MeghanMcCain plagued your dad so much....when voted against Martin Luther King day twice did that plague him too? I don’t remember a speech about it. And it’s not “triggered” when you talk about your dad. It’s sick and tired of injecting him. Please use your insults carefully
— Barbiesarmy (@crockerbarbieg1) December 12, 2019
Watch Michelle Obama say she and George W. Bush “disagree on policy” but their “values are the same:”
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