Former View co-host Meghan McCain sparred with right-wing personality Candace Owens on Twitter, telling her to "get f*cked" during a tense exchange about the efficacy of COVID-19 vaccines.
Owens has faced harsh criticism for undermining public health experts, including, but not limited to, her suggestion COVID-19 vaccines do not work.
She made headlines last week for her claim "more people have died under COVID this year," even though "more people took the vaccine this year" which is misleading.
While the United States has certainly lost more lives to COVID-19 this year than last year, the higher death toll was attributed to lower-than-needed vaccination rates in addition to a relaxation of everyday precautions to curb the virus' spread. The rise of the highly contagious Delta variant also contributed to higher death rates, largely among the unvaccinated population.
Owens' statements received considerable pushback from former President Donald Trump, whom she was interviewing at the time. Although Trump has consistently downplayed the pandemic's severity, he shut her down by correcting her on claims about vaccine efficacy, stunning Owens and viewers in the process.
The interview also garneered the attention of McCain, who praised Trump for "schooling" McCain on vaccines. McCain, no fan of Trump, said she has to give "Credit where credit is due."
Trump schooling Candace Owens with facts and logic regarding getting the vaccine is really a sight to behold. Credit where credit is due and I hate the guy.— Meghan McCain (@Meghan McCain) 1640280647
Owens responded shortly afterward, accusing McCain of only caring about the vaccine because "it allows you [McCain] to pretend that you care about health."
Hey Meghan\u2014 did you know that the overwhelming majority of people dying and/or being hospitalized from Covid-19 are clinically obese?\nPeople like you love the vaccine because it allows you to pretend that you care about health.\nPeople like me see right through that bullshit.https://twitter.com/MeghanMcCain/status/1474069990085124112\u00a0\u2026— Candace Owens (@Candace Owens) 1640304635
McCain issued a flippant response telling fellow conservative personality Ben Shapiro, who has also pushed falsehoods about the efficacy of vaccines, to "Come get your girl."
Come get your girl @benshapiro.https://twitter.com/realcandaceo/status/1474170605515821056\u00a0\u2026— Meghan McCain (@Meghan McCain) 1640308429
As Owens continued misrepresenting facts about COVID-19, McCain taunted her for being corrected by Trump, whom she referred to as Owens's "golden God."
Lol, I know it stings having your golden God, Trump, call you out on your anti vaxxer bullshit.https://twitter.com/RealCandaceO/status/1474193507309043712\u00a0\u2026— Meghan McCain (@Meghan McCain) 1640314439
Your post-trump pro-vaccine interview spiral has been really fun for all of us to watch.https://twitter.com/RealCandaceO/status/1474212812226449446\u00a0\u2026— Meghan McCain (@Meghan McCain) 1640316898
And finally, after Owens lashed out again, this time saying that McCain is "slipping into irrelevancy," McCain took her to task once more.
McCain criticized Owens for fat-shaming her on Instagram and deflecting "the fact that her hero fact-checked her." She told Owens to "Get f*cked," calling her a "danger to public health."
Coming from the woman who did an entire IG Live tonight talking at LENGTH about how obese I am as opposed to addressing the fact that her hero fact-checked her.\n\nYou spread misinformation about the safety of vaccines. You're a danger to public health.\n\nGet fucked.https://twitter.com/RealCandaceO/status/1474229140467470337\u00a0\u2026— Meghan McCain (@Meghan McCain) 1640320537
The intensity of the exchange drew considerable attention on social media, with many praising McCain for taking a hard stance against vaccine misinformation.
Not me cheering Meghan McCain on, merry Christmas, 2021 has been weirdhttps://twitter.com/meghanmccain/status/1474237304067825666\u00a0\u2026— Krista (@Krista) 1640455291
I did not have cheering for Meghan McCain on my 2021 bingo card but here I am.https://twitter.com/meghanmccain/status/1474237304067825666\u00a0\u2026— Holly Barker (@Holly Barker) 1640631044
Meghan McCain telling Candace Owens to get fucked has added an extra layer of holiday cheer to Christmas. (Why do I think @Iacoguy was somehow involved?)https://twitter.com/MeghanMcCain/status/1474237304067825666\u00a0\u2026— The Princess Broad (@The Princess Broad) 1640539871
I don\u2019t agree with @MeghanMcCain often but this is greathttps://twitter.com/MeghanMcCain/status/1474237304067825666\u00a0\u2026— Brandon Arthur (@Brandon Arthur) 1640365047
Ya know\u2026 I\u2019ve never really liked Megan.. but this is pure poetry. #GFcandaceowenshttps://twitter.com/MeghanMcCain/status/1474237304067825666\u00a0\u2026— Character By Integrity Act (@Character By Integrity Act) 1640374948
Who knew I'd wrap up the year with a smidge of a smile with regards to something that @MeghanMcCain said?\n\n2021 sure has been a wild 6 years.https://twitter.com/MeghanMcCain/status/1474237304067825666\u00a0\u2026— Dan Of The Deep State (@Dan Of The Deep State) 1640397212
Candace Owen called Meghan McCain clinically obese \n\nMeghan McCain told Candace Owen to "Get fucked"\n\nhttps://twitter.com/MeghanMcCain/status/1474237304067825666\u00a0\u2026— Time For Change (@Time For Change) 1640404030
Owens's penchant for spreading misinformation is not limited to COVID-19 vaccines.
Owens was criticized this week for hawking colloidal silver—which can turn users’ skin permanently blue—as a viable supplement. She claimed to use the colloidal silver everyday, calling it "another one that people probably know nothing about."
In fact, scientists and medical professionals know plenty about colloidal silver–including it can actually turn people's skin blue.
The condition, called argyria, is a blue-gray discoloration of the skin, eyes, internal organs, nails and gums due to a buildup of silver in the body. In rare cases, high doses of colloidal silver can cause seizures and organ damage.
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