Meghan McCain confronts Michael Wolff about factual errors in book: 'This is why people hate journalists'

"The View" co-host Meghan McCain confronted author Michael Wolff over the errors and journalism tactics used in his new controversial book, Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House on Wednesday.

McCain asked Wolff about his credibility, which has been called into question since excerpts of the book were released last week and critics pointed out inconsistencies in his reporting. When Wolff tried to turn the conversation around, she began listing off a number of the book’s skeptics including President Trump, New York Times’ Maggie Haberman, and Vogue’s Anna Wintour.

“This hits a special place for me because my family has been the subject of a book like this,” McCain said, referencing the book Game Change, which was about the 2008 presidential campaign of her father, Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz.

“Traditionally, in situations like this, it’s the disgruntled staffers who aren’t loyal to their principal who give interviews like this,” she continued, while pointing to factual errors such as ages and names.

The conservative host also pressed the author on one of the most controversial parts of the book – an off-the-record dinner at Wolff’s home with former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon and late Fox News CEO Roger Ailes.

“Quite frankly, had you invited me to your house at any point before this book, I would have said, ‘Hell no, of course not.’” McCain said. “I don’t go to journalists’ houses and start dishing about anything private.”

When he confirmed that the dinner conversation was off-the-record, McCain interrupted: “This is why people hate journalists, by the way; it’s why I don’t believe in the concept of ‘off-the-record,’ this right here.”

Wolff defended his decision by arguing that “off-the-record died” when Ailes died, adding that Bannon agreed with this decision.

A lawyer for President Trump sent a cease-and-desist letter to the book publisher after he claimed excerpts of the book were false, however, a lawyer for the publisher rejected the letter and released the book on Friday, days earlier than originally planned.