Meghan McCain on Being a Nepo Baby and Owning It

SNL called Meghan McCain the “Princess of Arizona” – and she’s embracing it. Her last name is nearly synonymous with Arizona as her father, the late Senator John McCain, led a 30+ year political career in the state. Her family name laddered Meghan up to big career moves, from regularly commentating on Fox News to repping conservative beliefs on “The View”. She says: more nepo babies like her should own it, not shy away from it. 

In this episode of 9 to 5ish, Meghan shares: 

• Why opting out from having an opinion was never an option growing up 

• How her family settled political disagreements, and why all politics are celebrated

• The event that changed her views on paid family leave – and why all parents deserve it

• Why she’s not voting for Trump or Biden, and what her dad would do 

In this episode of 9 to 5ish, Meghan shares: 

On Supporting Paid Family Leave 

Meghan: The View didn't give paid maternity leave, which is fine for me because I'm me. I am, as  we said, a nepo baby and my husband's employed. I think women should have paid maternity leave because having a baby is so expensive…to have someone at my level and your level still have these hideous experiences with birth and postpartum, there's so much that's very wrong. I literally don't know how single mothers do it. They should be given anything and everything they need anywhere in work, government, whatever. And I also think you can probably look at the breakdown of what's happening in America in so many ways. If a mother can't bond with their child and doesn't have time to be with their child and nurse – all the normal things you do when you first have a baby – and they're forced to go back to work. It's going to be stressful for the child, stressful for the mom. It's actually my biggest criticism of America in general is how shitty we are to moms and to women and to women who just had babies. 

On Why She Left “The View”

Meghan: Joy starts going after it with me, fighting about something with politics. It takes a lot to physically fight like that on TV. I don't think people realize that it takes a lot of emotionally, but also physically. I would always have to take a nap after the show cause I was blown out and I was like, I can't feel this way in my body and also fight like this on TV. And I said, “You missed me so much, Joy. You missed me so much, Joy.” And she said, “No, I didn't. No one missed you.” And it was very aggressive and I started crying. I'm not a big crier. They had to put the camera away from me. I started lactating everywhere. I had to make sure my tits weren't showing because I had milk coming out of my boobs. I went back to my office and I threw up in a garbage can that was in my office. And I called my brother, who is a very tough Marine. And he goes, “You're fucking out of there. You're fucking out of there. You're not doing this anymore.” 

On Why She Calls Herself a Nepo Baby

Meghan: Nepo babies aren't helping themselves. Sometimes I read interviews and I'm like, “Just say I was born on third base. I got a lot of opportunities because of my last name and my family. People were more curious about me because of my parents. And I did the best I could the way we all do.” I obviously accept that and know I had so many opportunities. Starting with my internship at Newsweek. I'm sure the fact that my dad was a famous senator – like it was like an exclusive internship to get – I'm sure that helped. My counter point is I've heard Gwyneth Paltrow say this. Like if your dad, your parents are doctors and you decide to be a doctor, there's a lot less anger toward that, which I think is interesting. I really lean into “nepo baby.” I put it in my bio. I actually have a pillow on my couch that's a needle point that says “nepo baby.” I wanted to call my podcast “Nepo Baby”, my bosses said no. I thought it was just kind of funny. So I don't have a problem being called that because it's the truth. 

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