Meghan McCain on Monday praised 2020 presidential candidate Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) for her reputation as an unusually tough boss, saying “being a bad bitch is a good thing.”
The co-host of “The View” said she isn’t looking for a presidential candidate who is “soft and warm.”
“Elizabeth Warren, I don’t need you to be soft and warm. Be a bad bitch. I don’t need to drink beer with you. I don’t need to see your kitchen,” McCain said, referring to an Instagram Live video the Massachusetts senator posted in December.
Co-host Joy Behar asked whether Klobuchar ― who has been accused of mistreating staff and has gained a reputation as a cruel and tough boss ― was a better fit for the presidency in McCain’s opinion.
“Being a bad bitch is a good thing,” McCain answered. “For me, it’s like you’re tough and you’re strong and you get things done. I think I probably fit into that category.”
Just days before Klobuchar officially launched her 2020 bid on Feb. 10, HuffPost reported that at least three people had withdrawn from consideration to lead her campaign, in part due to the senator’s history of mistreating her staff. Several former Klobuchar staffers described her as habitually demeaning and prone to outbursts of cruelty. Her office consistently has one of the highest rates of staff turnover in the Senate.
Another HuffPost report found that then-Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) spoke to Klobuchar privately in 2015 about the mistreatment of her office staff and told her to change her behavior. Neither Klobuchar nor Reid said they remembered the alleged conversation.
Klobuchar responded to the reports by acknowledging that she can be “tough” on staff.
“Yes, I can be tough, and yes, I can push people,” Klobuchar told reporters after announcing her presidential bid. “I have high expectations for myself, I have high expectations for the people that work for me, but I have high expectations for this country.”
