Meghan McCain opened up over the weekend about how the recent death of her father, Republican Sen. John McCain, and the loss of his leadership in Congress have affected her feelings as an American.

“As an American, I hate this country without him in it,” Ms. McCain, who co-hosts ABC’s “The View,” told CNN’s Van Jones. “And I know that sounds awful. I don’t hate America, but I just hate it without his leadership. And, I’m very sad all the time, and I’m struggling with that sadness.

“I miss him in ways that I never even could have fathomed, and then I try and say ‘What would my dad say?’” she continued. “He’d say, ‘We are McCains, and we don’t feel sorry for ourselves and we’re blessed. Get up and keep fighting, Meghan.’ So, that’s what I kind of do every day, and some days are better than others.”

Ms. McCain, an outspoken conservative critic of President Trump, went on to suggest that she no longer fully aligns with the Republican Party because of the party’s loyalty to the president.

“I call myself a conservative,” she said. “I’m still a member of the Republican Party and I still vote on the Republican ticket, but Republicanism is so tied up with being for Trump. But, I’m also not a ‘Never Trumper.’ Trump didn’t melt my brain.

“To me, when I grew up, conservativism and character, my father was like really, really, I would say, militant about character,” she added. “And now it seems like lying, well, it’s OK, it’s a little nebulous. Stealing, it’s a little nebulous. I just don’t think those are American characteristics. And it scares me, a lot.”

On “The View” Monday morning, Ms. McCain stressed that she’s not leading a “mass exodus out of the Republican Party,” adding that some headlines suggested otherwise.

“It’s not true at all,” she said. “I am still a Republican but not voting for Trump doesn’t necessarily mean you’re no longer a conservative.”

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