Is Meghan McCain leaving 'The View'? It's 'not worth the emotional toll,' insider says

Meghan McCain is weighing whether to walk away from an estimated near-$1 million salary at "The View" as insiders claim she's hitting her breaking point.

The "exhausted and defeated" conservative commentator is "feeling like a caged animal," according to The Daily Beast, which cited multiple sources close to McCain. The 34-year-old joined the show in 2017, and ABC producers have reportedly made her an offer to return for the show's 23rd season, which begins in September.

"It’s getting to the point where it’s not worth the emotional toll every week," one of the insiders said.

McCain's on-screen commentary often turns into an online debate, with Twitter users quick to condemn and criticize her more controversial statements. And her spars with her co-hosts have turned particularly ugly — last month, she infamously snapped at Joy Behar, "Don’t feel bad for me, b--ch. I get paid to do this."

Although McCain is fatigued, she's publicly championed by the show's senior executive producer, Hilary Estey McLoughlin, who told the Daily Beast that "we love having her there."

Other women have operated as the show's token conservative voices in the past, including Elisabeth Hasselbeck and Candace Cameon Bure. But "Meghan is bolder and more fearless in what she's willing to say and how she challenges people," McLoughlin said. "I think she sometimes feels isolated because she’s carrying this mantle and she takes it very personally. It’s a hard job. It’s the hardest job on the show, for sure."

Indeed, "Fuller House" star Bure has made it clear that she's pleased with her decision to leave the show in 2016: "I don't miss 'The View' at all," she told Wendy Williams in 2018. "I love being on talk shows, I love hosting talk shows, but that was a hard job every single day, talking politics."