The View’s Meghan McCain sparks instant clash over impeachment conviction votes

"The View" co-host Meghan McCain sparked an instant clash by gloating over Democratic senators signaling they were open minded on convicting President Donald Trump.

The conservative co-host cited a report that Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) was considering acquittal -- the senator and another reporter claimed was an inaccurate account of her remarks -- and kept on going.

"This is not a woman who misspeaks," McCain said. "She's been in office for a hundred -- I believe she's the oldest sitting senator, she's very well experienced. You have Joe Manchin, Kyrsten Sinema of my home state of Arizona, Sen. Doug Jones of Alabama, not saying whether or not they're going to vote for impeachment. So I think what Nancy Pelosi was worried about is happening right now. You have senators, four of them right now, coming out and saying they're not necessarily sold on this."

Co-host Joy Behar said the public wanted to hear from witnesses like John Bolton and Mick Mulvaney, and Sunny Hostin said McCain was missing the point.

"It's important to know he's already been impeached," Hostin said, as the audience roared. "He's been impeached for life. He has been. So the vote is not for impeachment, the vote is for whether or not he should be convicted of what he's been charged with, and also whether or not he should be removed."

A scowling McCain interrupted, as the applause died down.

"So Doug Jones, Joe Manchin, Kyrsten Sinema -- are they all bad people?" she glowered.

Hostin moved on without addressing her question, and pointed to polls that showed broad public support for new witnesses -- and host Whoopi Goldberg asked why Republicans hadn't been interested in Joe and Hunter Biden before Trump solicited Ukraine's help in investigating them.

"This conversation about the Bidens should have come up four or five years ago when it was relevant," Goldberg said. "Because for me, I don't mind if they want to drag them in. I'm annoyed they're trying to tack it onto this."

She and Behar agreed Republicans were trying to muddy the waters with dirt on the Bidens -- but McCain steered the conversation back to possibly wavering Democrats.

"The only question, which I maybe clumsily made at the beginning of the topic, is what do you do about these four Democrats?" McCain said, and Goldberg said she didn't mind their uncertainty. "Does that mean they're, whatever you said in the beginning, like, horrible heretics against the Constitution?"