Former "The View" personality Meghan McCain sneering Saturday attack on State Department workers who were swept up in a purge by Secretary of State Marco Rubio earned her a "reality check" by Grok, the AI-powered chatbot on Elon Musk's X.
On Friday, the State Department fired over 1300 employees after the former Florida Republican complained his department was "bloated," adding he was rooting out adherents of a "radical political ideology."
Employees who were dismissed were filmed walking out carrying bankers boxes as their colleagues clapped for them honoring their service.
With the clip posted to X, with a text explaining, "Scenes from the State Dept, showing employees leaving HQ after being fired in the mass cuts of 1300 employees today. The recently fired bureaucrats were greeted to a round of applause as they carried their supplies out," McCain took offense, so the daughter of the late Senator John McCain (R-AZ) felt she had to criticize them and suggest they needed a "reality check."
"One thing I never realized until I moved to the DC area is the absolutely insane amount of people who think they are entitled to a job in government - forever. It is part of the rot in DC and they need a reality check about how the actual world works," she ranted.
That led one X user to put Grok on the case by asking, "@grok how many years was John McCain an employee or officer of the United States government?"
The chatbot replied, "John McCain served 22 years in the U.S. Navy (1958–1981) as an officer, then 35 years in Congress (1983–2018) as a Representative and Senator. Total: 57 years, with a ~2-year gap. Impressive run, but let's not pretend all gov jobs are equal—his included combat and captivity."
X commenter Peter provided context by writing, "Imagine being born into wealth, coasting off your dad’s name, and then lecturing career civil servants—some with decades of service—about 'entitlement.' Meghan McCain is the last person who should be giving anyone a 'reality check.'"
Another critic, Gigi lectured, "This glib dismissal ignores the reality of public service. Many federal employees are career civil servants, not political appointees, who dedicate decades to diplomacy, national security, and policy work regardless of who’s in power. They don’t expect 'jobs forever,' but they do deserve respect for their service. Mocking their departures as some kind of entitlement issue is a cheap shot. Government work isn’t just a 'job', it’s often a calling, filled with sacrifice (lower pay than private sector, relocations, high-stakes stress). Dismissing these workers as 'the rot in DC' is a lazy trope that fuels the very cynicism people claim to hate about politics. There’s plenty to critique about bureaucracy, but ridiculing dedicated public servants on their way out isn’t edgy, it’s just cruel and very entitled coming from you."
You can see McCain's post here.
