Former The View co-host Meghan McCain was widely mocked after complaining about MAGA conservatives' "harsh views" about women who don't want children—prompting many to wonder if she's been paying any attention at all.
McCain's remarks come as conservatives increasingly encourage women, particularly younger women, to prioritize motherhood. Several women tied to the administration, including Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, Katie Miller—wife of Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller—and Second Lady Usha Vance, have recently spoken publicly about their pregnancies.
As recently as last week, Leavitt said on X that, "There is no greater joy in life than the joy that comes from being a mother," and that, "All young women should be told this!"
A frustrated McCain wrote the following message to her own followers:
"I am obviously a huge proponent of having children but one thing that really bothers me about conservative messaging on this is there are so many women who want to become mothers and can’t or - just haven’t found the right person. Also some women don’t want children and it’s ok."
"We should be welcoming of all kinds of women and voters. I find this messaging just so harsh and I know others do too because they privately message me about it because I’ve shared my journey with miscarriages publicly. So many women are feeling so much shame and I hate it."
"I just don’t get what we’re doing here and would be cool if we focused on a broader idea and more nuanced image of a conservative woman."
You can see her post below.
It's no secret that the MAGA movement embraces everything that McCain seems to have oddly overlooked.
For instance, a "tradwife"—short for “traditional wife” or “traditional housewife”—is a woman who embraces conventional gender roles within marriage, often prioritizing homemaking, child-rearing, and domestic duties over a professional career. Tradwives were a largely online trend but have attained more visibility by aligning themselves with all things MAGA.
While many self-described tradwives avoid explicit political commentary, their content has been linked to broader alt-right and far-right movements. Black feminist scholars in particular have observed that by presenting traditionalism as an “apolitical” lifestyle choice, some influencers help normalize ideologies rooted in patriarchy, white supremacy, and rigid gender hierarchies.
Last year, the New York Times reported that the Trump administration "has been hearing out a chorus of ideas in recent weeks for persuading Americans to get married and have more children" and that one proposal shared with aides "would give a $5,000 cash 'baby bonus' to every American mother after delivery."
Some Trump administration officials are already advancing policies aimed at boosting family growth. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, a father of nine, issued a memo prioritizing transportation funding for areas with higher birth and marriage rates—potentially shifting resources from urban transit to rural highways.
Vice President J.D. Vance has stated in multiple speeches that he wants Americans to have more babies. This focus on boosting the country’s birth rate aligns with broader policy shifts that prioritize families in federal funding decisions.
Vance said the U.S. needs “a culture that celebrates life at all stages, one that recognizes and truly believes that the benchmark of national success is not our GDP number or our stock market, but whether people feel that they can raise thriving and healthy families in our country."
These beliefs have been—unsurprisingly for MAGA—linked to white supremacy. Billionaire Elon Musk courted controversy in 2023 when he appeared at the far-right Atreju Festival in Rome. The event was hosted by the Brothers of Italy party of Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, a Trump administration ally.
Musk used his appearance as an opportunity to push the great replacement theory, a conspiracy theory that claims white European populations and their descendants are being demographically and culturally replaced with non-Europeans.
MAGA has also been very open about stripping women of their voting rights: take Brando Sorbo, the son of Hercules actor and Trump supporter Kevin Sorbo, who claimed last year that many young women have told him they regret the ratification of the 19th Amendment, arguing it set off a chain of negative consequences such as the legalization of abortion and the rise of feminism.
Most recently, the SAVE America Act, a measure backed by the Trump administration that would exercise more federal oversight over elections, has faced criticism because it complicates voting for individuals whose legal name does not match their birth certificate—often married women who have adopted their spouse’s last name.
All of this is pretty in your face—and McCain was called out for a post critics pointed out seems rather clueless.
Wake up and smell the coffee, Meghan.
