Meghan McCain says Greta Thunberg hasn't 'earned' honor of TIME Person of the Year, and reveals who she really wanted
Meghan McCain does not believe teenage climate activist Greta Thunberg "earned" the honor to be chosen as TIME's Person of the Year 2019.
'The View' co-host suggested Thursday, December 12 that the anonymous whistleblower who lodged a complaint against President Donald Trump, leading to the impeachment inquiry, should have been the one to be given the honor.
"I don't put a lot of clout into the [Time Magazine's] Person of the Year. Keep in mind, Hitler and the Ayatollah were also the Person of the Year." She added that regardless of her views about the magazine, giving the long-standing award to the whistleblower would have been a "more salient and timely choice," the conservative co-host said while speaking with her colleagues.
McCain said that although she disagrees with the 16-year-old eco-warrior's opinions and movement, she does not condone attacking the Swedish teen because of her age.
"I still don't believe in attacking underaged people. I disagree with her, I think everyone knows how I feel about climate change as religion on the left, but I'm not going to attack a 16-year-old in the same way I don't agree with attacking Barron Trump," the co-host said, making a reference to Stanford University professor Pamela Karlan mentioning the name of the president's son, Barron, during an impeachment hearing.
First Lady Melania Trump had slammed Karlan publicly on Twitter for bringing minors into politics.
Undercutting Melania's stance, Trump mocked the teenager on Thursday, suggesting she needed anger management.
"Greta must work on her Anger Management problem, then go to a good old fashioned movie with a friend! Chill Greta, Chill!” Trump wrote on Twitter.
The View's host Joy Behar, during the segment, also pondered why the first lady had decided to stay silent on her husband's direct attack on Thunberg days after she had criticized attacks against her 13-year-old son.
"I did not think it was appropriate for Barron's name to be invoked even as an analogy, as some sort of pun," host Joy Behar said. "And I don't think it's appropriate for the president to go after a teenager who has Asperger's, who’s a climate change activist, and I would like to see from the first lady the same kind of energy and verve with which she used defending her son."
McCain, however, remained unswayed by her co-host's arguments and insisted that Thunberg had not "earned" the title.
"I just didn't think she earned it in the same way that the whistleblower did when it comes to influence this year," she said. "I don’t agree with her as a choice, and I also think if you are 16, is this peak for her? What comes next? I mean, this is a high, high bar for her," she said. I don’t know how you can possibly live up when you are 17 when you’re already person of the year."
Thunberg, who rose to popularity through her weekly Friday protest outside the Swedish parliament a year ago, became the youngest person to receive the title in TIME's 92-year history. She inspired millions of people across the world to take to the streets in an effort to demand an emergency action on climate change from their governments.
The Swedish teen was recognized by the magazine for her fearless efforts of raising global awareness about climate change. She was reportedly chosen from TIME's five finalists, which included House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), Trump, the anonymous whistleblower who lodged an official complaint about Trump's July 25 call to Ukraine President, leading to an impeachment inquiry against the president, and the anti-government protesters in Hong Kong.