‘The View’ Host Meghan McCain Reveals She Still Struggles With John McCain’s Death: ‘It Physically Hurts’

Meghan McCain posted a mournful message about her late father, Sen. John McCain on Instagram on Tuesday.

McCain posted a photo of herself with her father, who passed away back in August after a prolonged battle with brain cancer. It showed the two sitting side by side in a casual setting, with no suits or podiums. The former senator wore faded jeans and a United States Navy hat, as well as an amiable smile. He was holding his cell phone in his lap and had apparently been caught in a candid moment.
In her caption, Meghan noted that it had been “66 days” since his passing.

“I wake up every morning still instinctually trying and reaching to call you on the phone,” she went on. “I miss you so much Dad it physically hurts my heart. I miss your laugh, your voice, your dark sense of humor, the way you always made me feel safe in a world that seems to have lost its way. I miss your dry ribs and grilled chicken. I miss you singing The Beach Boys on the porch.”

“I miss waking up and drinking cappuccino and reading the New York Times together. I miss your old far side t-shirts and watching John Wayne movies. I miss hiking across the creek to the top of the mountain and watching the black hawks. I miss the way you cooked eggs and bacon. I love you forever. Stay with me,” she concluded.

McCain’s followers responded with an outpouring of condolences and support, as the nation grieves alongside her family. To many, John McCain represented the Republican party as it once was, and they hold him as a symbold of integrity in public service.

“My heart does too I miss ur dad very much,” one person wrote, adding their own slogan, “‘Mama,’” for “make America McCain again.”

“I’m so sorry, Meghan,” wrote another. “My dad has been gone for 14 years. I understand your pain and know how much it hurts. Praying for you and your family.”

“Sending you much love and big big hugs,” a third person commented. “I wish every politician and human being was just like @senatorjohnmccain.”

In the wake of her father’s passing, McCain took some time away from her job as a co-host on The View. However, she is back and in her usual form — stirring up controversy this week with her rhetoric on gun reform and partisanship.

McCain incurred the fury of many viewers on Monday when she suggested that figures on the Democratic side were just as much to blame for inciting domestic terrorist attacks as President Trump. The point came from a discussion of the shooting at a Pittsburgh synagogue on Saturday, as well as the mail bombings sent to Democratic leaders in the days before.

The View airs on weekdays at 11 a.m. ET on ABC.