After attempted bomb attacks, Meghan McCain admits she regrets saying ‘I hate Hillary Clinton’

Meghan McCain is reconsidering the power of her own words in the wake of the attempted bomb attacks against former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, former President Barack Obama and other prominent Democrats.

On Thursday’s episode of The View, the 34-year-old host said she regretted using combative language toward Clinton, who sits across the political aisle from McCain and her late father, Sen. John McCain. She expressed concern that her past comments have contributed to the country’s current polarized climate — a climate that led to several Democratic figures and CNN being targeted by pipe bombs in the mail this week.

“I really try every day, I really try to come into work thinking about what rhetoric I’m going to put out in the world and what my father would’ve done if he was still here,” McCain began. “Last year on this show I said, ‘I hate Hillary Clinton’ and I called her Crooked Hillary, and it is one of the things I regret doing.”

She continued, “This is not saying I agree with her. I have many vast difference of opinion on philosophy and ideology, and I didn’t think she was a great candidate. But ‘hate’ is not a word that should be coming out of my mouth on television about someone of a different political persuasion.”

She then said that she intends “to hold myself to the same standard that I would like to hold the president” — even though she said she “gave up” on his ability to maintain this standard “a long time ago.”

McCain concluded by asking herself, “What have I done to contribute to the polarization in this country?

“I can’t give into hate,” she said. “It’s too great a burden to bear. I have to stick with love.”

On Wednesday afternoon, suspected explosive devices were intercepted before reaching Clinton, former President Obama and former Attorney General Eric Holder. A device addressed to former CIA chief John Brennan was delivered to CNN’s New York headquarters and prompted an evacuation. Officials said the devices addressed to Obama, Clinton and CNN appear to have been sent by the same person, The Washington Post reported.

Days earlier, an explosive device was found in the mailbox of liberal philanthropist George Soros.

And on Thursday, the FBI confirmed on Twitter that two suspicious packages addressed to former Vice President Joe Biden and “similar in appearance” to the others had been intercepted at mail facilities in Delaware. One was found at a postal center in New Castle, the Associated Press reported, and the other at a facility in Wilmington.