The View’s Meghan McCain loses faith in GOP leadership: ‘Hard to believe people in power have our best interest in mind’

The coronavirus crisis has shaken "The View" co-host Meghan McCain's faith in the nation's leadership.

McCain last month described her "existential awakening" to just how badly served many Americans were by “horrible” elected officials, and Friday she explained that she doesn't trust that President Donald Trump and many Republican governors value public health in deciding to reopen the economy.

"We were told in the beginning, it's no more contagious than the flu, it's totally safe to fly around, donate your masks -- it's ridiculous," McCain said. "All of that has been turned on its head. I can't leave my house without wearing a mask. It's highly contagious, nothing like the flu. We can't travel anywhere. I can't go anywhere, and all I can do is go for a walk privately once in awhile.

"But I think when you talk about reopening, we have to think about this, like, post-9/11 in the sense that culture changed in every conceivable way after 9/11," she added. "I mean, no one would feel comfortable going through an airport without getting screened again, at least I wouldn't. We think about going to a movie theater. I'm not comfortable sitting next to someone in a seat that's just sitting right next to me."

Society will almost certainly change after the pandemic, McCain said, and she can't believe that the nation's leadership doesn't seem to understand or care.

"We'll probably have to social distance in theaters," she said, "and I think part of the problem is there's just so much misinformation flying around all the time, and it's hard to believe that the people in power have our best interest at mind, which is really heartbreaking to say to all of you."

"But I do feel that way, and I think for all of our safety we kind of have to just wait and bear it and listen to doctors and listen to specialists," McCain added. "But this is going to be a long time coming until we get back to any semblance of normal, unfortunately, because I know this is very hard for the entire swath of our population."