Meghan McCain trends on Twitter after proclaiming 'abortion is murder' on 'The View'

"The View" co-host Meghan McCain trended on social media Monday after she criticized President Joe Biden's support for federal funding for abortion, claiming "he's doing grave spiritual harm to himself" by violating the Roman Catholic Church's teachings.

Her comments came as "The View" discussed how the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops last week advanced plans to produce a document that could deny Communion to public officials who support abortion. The effort is largely seen as a rebuke of President Biden, the first Catholic U.S. president in nearly 60 years and an advocate of abortion rights.

"When it comes to the separation of church and state, the onus is on the government, not the church," McCain said, adding that the church attempts to exert its influence whenever possible. She noted that previously several U.S. bishops expressed support for excommunicating New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) after he signed a radical pro-abortion bill into law, so the actions toward Biden are not unprecedented.

McCain reminded viewers of Biden's flip-flopping positions on abortion, most notably his previous support for the Hyde Amendment — a law that bans federal funding for abortions — which Biden renounced on the 2020 campaign trail. The president's most recent budget removes the Hyde Amendment, fulfilling a campaign promise to pro-abortion activists and signaling his shifting public views on abortion under pressure from the left.

"If you are a devout Catholic, as President Biden claims to be, abortion is a cardinal sin that can do deep spiritual harm to you, and President Biden had been supportive of the Hyde Amendment up until 2019 when he decided to run for president," McCain said.

"I know the women on this show disagree with me, but as far as I'm concerned abortion is murder and that means the government-funded killing of the unborn," she continued.

"It's ultimately up to the church, but he's walking a very fine line here, and ultimately, all of these issues are literally life and death for Catholics, for devout Christians," she said. "And he's going to have to ultimately talk to his creator when the time comes as we all do, and reconcile his politics with his — with his personal faith, and I believe he's doing great spiritual harm to himself and harm to this country."

McCain's comments stirred up controversy on social media, with pro-lifers expressing support for her and critics attacking her views. After she started trending, McCain observed that the attention she received was likely due to being "the only pro-life woman in mainstream media."