The View’s Meghan McCain shrugs off Cohen tapes as proof Trump lied — and Whoopi Goldberg schools her

"The View" co-host Meghan McCain insisted she learned nothing new from the just-released recordings of President Donald Trump discussing a Playmate payout with attorney Michael Cohen.

McCain frequently positions herself as a Trump critic, especially when he attacks her father, but she often defends his broader violations of presidential norms -- such as his flagrant dishonesty.

"CNN and other outlets aren't even transcribing this because it's ambiguous and unclear," McCain said. "I will say, last night I was on my Instagram Live because I needed somebody to talk to when you bitches aren't around for this, and I was, like, I don't know what I just heard."

McCain said the recordings were revealed during prime time on CNN, instead of the morning on a broadcast network -- and she said that proved they weren't a big story.

"I don't mean disrespect to CNN, but it probably would have been released on, like, ABC News in the morning if it was this breaking of a story, if this was the smoking gun, silver bullet that was going to take Trump out," McCain said.

Co-host Whoopi Goldberg explained the tapes proved Trump had been lying about his involvement in paying off his mistress just before the 2016 election.

"We now know on tape, that's his voice, that he lied," Goldberg said.

McCain said that wasn't news, and she suggested only Trump haters cared if the president was trustworthy.

"But didn't we already know that?" McCain said. "What should be important to everyone who hates Trump, is if there is a crime and we need to impeach him, that doesn't do it."

Goldberg said the tapes were just part of the mountain of evidence piling up against Trump's activity before the election.

"I like the cumulative because when you start seeing -- and at some point when a mountain of poo falls on you," she said, "you have to come up through the poo and say, that wasn't it."