Meghan McCain Defends Erika Jayne, Trashes Trump Family, Says She Was 'Bullied' Off of The View

Meghan McCain may be a "Bad Republican," but Andy Cohen knows she always makes for good television. And she was definitely her usual unfiltered self during her latest visit to the "Watch What Happens Live" Clubhouse on Wednesday.

The former host of "The View" lobbed a few attacks at her former place, even saying that her experience on the set made her feel like she was the central figure in her own "Truman Show," referencing the classic Jim Carrey film.

McCain also weighed in on the just-aired "Real Housewives of Beverly Hills" reunion, and particularly about the proverbial beating that Erika Jayne is taking about the scandal that has rocked her ex-husband Tom Girardi.

Meghan says she and Erika became extremely close during the pandemic, and she actually believes the reality star when she says she had no idea what her ex-husband was doing with their money.

"I feel bad for her," Meghan said. "I have known-- I don't know, but I know wealthy women who don't know anything about their finances."

Meghan's fellow guest, CNN political commentator S.E. Cupp, shared the same sentiment, telling Andy, "I believe that’s the way their marriage was arranged, and I believe she was comfortable with that for some time until it became a big problem. I mean, obviously."

Meghan was equally not suspicious of the timing of Erika's filing for divorce from her husband of 21 years, coming just a month before he was charged with embezzlement and the divorce called a "sham" as part of a larger cover-up.

"The timelines match up to me," Meghan said. "I believe her."

During the "RHOBH" reunion, Erika said that she stayed with Tom as long as she did in part because he controlled her finances and she had no money. When Andy shot back that she makes pretty good money as a "Housewife," Erika said that she handed all of those paychecks right to her husband.

She further reiterated that her leaving Tom had nothing to do with embezzlement or finances at all, but rather his years of alleged infidelity, with Erika learning about a third woman on the day she left him.

"Listen, she is very defensive. I get why, everything’s coming at her and her life is falling apart," S.E. told Andy during "WWHL." "But the defensiveness does not communicate-- It doesn’t do her well."

In particular, Erika has come under scrutiny for looking as if she has no empathy for the surviving families of a horrific plane crash that killed all 189 passengers and crew allegedly not getting the settlement money coordinated through Tom's law firm.

"I would have loved to have consulted her," Meghan told Andy. "I would have loved to have her hire me for some political consulting especially on her social media. I just think unfortunately perception is reality in the time that we live in."

"I believe she has a good heart. I believe that she will be proven innocent," Meghan continued. "But I think unfortunately, some of her social media posts, I do agree. I wouldn’t put-- But I don’t know what her lawyers are telling her, either, because maybe they’re telling her not to, but yeah, I would have toned down some of it."

Meghan also went in again on the Trump family, showing that she still has a lot of anger over Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner showing up at her father's funeral, calling them "funeral crashers" in her memoir.

She even goes so far as to claim that their appearance was bout about clout chasing than any actual sympathy for her or her family, or interest in the significance of his passing.

"One of my dad's old advisers told me that it was just an event that they wanted to go to because his funeral at the National Cathedral kind of ended up being this enormous moment," she said. "I was told Lindsey Graham invited him. I've been told many different things from many different people."

But the bottom line for Meghan is that "They should never have come. They had no business being there. I remember seeing them and seeing her specifically. They had no g------ business being there!"

She also took a shot at what would turn out to be her only interaction with the then-President and First Lady, which was even more odd than Ivanka and Jared crashing her father's funeral. But like that incident, this one centered around John McCain as well.

There was a media story that began circulating that the president had been mocking McCain's minor physical disabilities, which were a result of his time as a POW and the torture he endured.

According to Meghan, Donald Trump actually called her in response to a tweet she put out asking, what more could her family be put through. She got a voicemail that the president was trying to reach her from the White House and had actually intended not to take his call.

"I called my dad and told him what happened," she said. "He was like, you have to respect the White House, you have to respect him."

"It was a very weird conversation," Meghan continued. "He said, 'It's all fake news, it's a lie. I never did that, I never did that, I never did that.’ And then he put Melania on the speaker phone [and] she said, ‘We love you, we love you,’ and I was like, 'No you don’t. I don’t know what this is.' And it was very uncomfortable.

As for what was happening in that moment, Meghan has a theory. "It was the closest they’ve ever come, I felt like, to realizing what they were doing and the damage it caused," she said.

Meghan McCain has not minced her words about her departure from "The View," but she was quick to defend some of the people she worked with, even emphasizing that she's still in touch with Sunny Hostin on the regular.

As for Whoopi Goldberg, with whom Meghan sparred many times on-air, she insists she has nothing but love and respect for the show's long-time moderator. "I adore Whoopi, she’s an American icon, I have more love for her than anything else."

She wasn't trying to slam Whoopi in anything she's said about her time on the show, including when she said that it was "toxic hostility" from both Whoopi and Joy Behar that led to her departure.

"I adore Whoopi and I love her. I think things went off the rails," Meghan tried to explain. "I was trying to give context to my experience living ... I just wanted to explain myself and the things that happened."

If, Andy challenged her, the show is so toxic, then why does Meghan's mom serve as a co-host and why is Meghan lobbying for her friend, and fellow guest, S.E. Cupp to join the show.

"Because it’s a great platform and I’m not a hater," Meghan said simply.

So Andy pushed again, asking her, "Do you take any responsibility at all for the toxicity on ‘The View’?"

"Yeah, you know, that’s a really interesting question and I think only one person was bullied out of their job and doesn’t work there anymore and I think that really says it all," she replied.

In another segment, where they were talking about Katie Couric's recent tell-all book, both Meghan and S.E. criticized the book for the way Katie talked about walking over other women in the business to get ahead. They both insisted that's not how women treat one another anymore, and Katie's book is thus not pro-women.

So Andy asked if Meghan thought that her memoir was pro-women, or would it perhaps fall into that same trap that she says Katie's book does.

"Is it pro-women to work in an environment where because you have a different political opinion you are leaked about every-- I told you this when I was on the show forever ago, it was like ‘The Truman Show,'" she said.

When Andy asked if she had any idea who was behind those leaks, Meghan replied, "No one knows, I have my thoughts of who it is. I think they’re very sad, whoever’s doing it is very sad. But it really has an impact."

She then went on to expand on her "Truman Show" comparison, adding, "The moment I walked in the building, I would rush to my dressing room because I was so worried if I would, like, go get eggs at the craft service table it would be like, ‘Psychotic Meghan McCain Throwing Eggs.' It is not a way to run a show."