![Meghan McCain](https://deadline.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/155339_lr_0260-e1584929978205.jpg?w=681&h=383&crop=1)
As ABC’s The View returned Monday after a week off, the topic for the hour was the aftermath of the death of George Floyd, as protests have swept the country calling for an end to racial injustice.
Co-host Meghan McCain cited an op ed from Condoleeza Rice, the former Secretary of State, in which she wrote, “Our country has a birth defect: Africans and Europeans came to this country together — but one group was in chains.”
McCain said: “Not just people like me, but all Americans in general, but particularly people like me that come from a place of privilege, have to take a really hard look at the extreme pain in this country and anger. This didn’t just come from nowhere, This didn’t just come from a silo, and I implore everyone everywhere, but particularly people who are in their tribes, and I mean that political tribes, that we need to lead with compassion and empathy and love and humanity.”
She added, “And I know we are not getting it from the top, but there are people I have seen who we are getting it from. George Floyd’s family I think have been incredible throughout this entire thing. And I empathize with their grief on a level I can’t possibly explain. And there are leaders that have done a lot right now, and there also are people who have deeply disappointed me. All of us have a responsibility to take a hard look at our responsibility confronting race…I hope this is a watershed moment that we can learn and grow from, and I pray for America, and I pray that we all speak in the language of unity right now.”
Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA), who is among the contenders to be Joe Biden’s running mate, was a guest on the show. McCain asked her about calls to “defund the police,” noting that the Minneapolis City Council just agreed on a measure to dismantle the department.
“Do you support defunding and removing police from American communities, and if not, why do you think there is such a hard time between defunding and reforming police departments?”
Harris answered: “I think that a big part of this conversation is about reimagining how we do public safety in America, which I support, which is this: We have confused the idea that to achieve safety, you put more cops on the street instead understanding to achieve safe and healthy communities you put more resources in” education, affordable housing, home ownership and small business capital.