Meghan McCain goes into extended meltdown after The View audience goes wild for impeachment

"The View" co-host Joy Behar joked that Republicans should be thrown in jail for helping President Donald Trump cover up his lawless behavior, and Meghan McCain was infuriated.

The panelists were reacting to former White House counsel Don McGahn following the president's directive to defy a congressional subpoena, and Behar said Richard Nixon must be jealous of what Trump gets away with doing.

"He would say, 'I was in the wrong period of history because he would have gotten away with everything just like this corrupt president is getting away with,'" Behar said. "This is an unbelievably corrupt president, corrupt administration and the Republican Party is right behind him, and they all should be thrown into jail as far as I'm concerned."

The audience cheered her comment loudly, and McCain acted hurt.

"If you're going to say that all Republicans should be in jail, all of them," McCain said, "you should say Pelosi as well because she's not forcing impeachment, either. But all Republicans should be in jail for not forcing impeachment, then Democrats should be held to the same standard, as well."

Behar looked baffled, and asked why Republicans should go to jail for not impeaching Trump.

"Isn't that what you want?" McCain said. "Impeachment?"

Behar said that's not what she meant, and McCain changed the subject to poll numbers.

"Let me just finish really quick," McCain said, reading polls that showed soft public support for impeachment. "I feel like I have been misled so many times. I have become convinced watching the news the Mueller report was going to be the smoking gun that everyone was looking for, having to do with the adoption meeting in Trump Tower with Donald Trump Jr., that there was going to be some sort of connection that would have been presented in front of us that Trump would be hauled out in handcuffs."

"I'm one of those people that watched enough cable news that I actually started believing it was happening," she added. "Right now I'm a lot more skeptical. I don't know what's going on. I don't know why he's not testifying, but I do know that if you want to impeach the president, you got to do better than McGahn not showing up to testify in Congress."

Behar said impeachment seems increasingly likely, and McCain said she just seemed to be frustrated.

"You're saying that all Republicans holding office should be in jail," McCain said.

Behar said her comment was simply hyperbole, which is how co-host Sunny Hostin said she heard the remark.

"It doesn't sound that way to the Republican at the table for what it's worth," McCain said. "It sounds a little aggressive. Part of the problem is there were 10,000 people at Trump's rally in Pennsylvania last night, which by the way, it's a population of 4,000 people."

Host Whoopi Goldberg said Democrats should hold McGahn and other Trump officials accountable for violating constitutional law, and McCain lashed out at the audience for cheering.

"I'll wait until everyone is done applauding," she said. "The illegal activity you're speaking of, is it still collusion? I understand that. Someone's phone is going off. I understand that you were talking about the frustration that he's not showing up to testify. It has happened in other administrations."

McCain said Democrats should skip impeachment and just try to defeat Trump in the election, and she seemed frustrated that other panelists and the audience disagreed.

"I'm trying to explain the politics of it," she said. "The other thing I would like to make clear is, I come here every day trying to show a different perspective, and basically when I walk out of my apartment, it's an unpopular one. But it's important to explain what's going on in Montoursville and why people would travel to see (Trump). He's still incredibly popular in states that matter, and I'm trying to give you a warning shot of how you can blow this."