'The View' Co-Hosts React to Meghan McCain's Exit: 'You Were a Formidable Opponent,' Says Joy Behar

Meghan McCain's co-hosts at The View are wishing her well after she announced her departure from the daily talk show on Thursday.

After four seasons as a co-host, McCain, 36, cited her life in Washington, D.C. with husband Ben Domenech and 9-month-old daughter Liberty as one of the reasons for her exit. She will remain on through the end of July, she said.

"This was not an easy decision," she told viewers. "It took a lot of thought and counsel and prayer, and talking to my family and my close friends, and, you know, look — COVID has changed the world for all of us and it changed the way, at least for me, the way I am looking at life, the way I'm living my life, the way I want my life to look like."

After she shared the announcement, co-hosts Whoopi Goldberg, Joy Behar, Sunny Hostin and Sara Haines all reacted to the news.

Behar, who frequently went head-to-head with McCain on The View, said she was grateful to have had such a "formidable opponent."

"You and I have had our disagreements, we've had our fights, we also had some drinking moments which were rather fun and interesting," said Behar, 78. "I have to say that what we have in common — as do all of us here — is that we're on a show where we stick our necks out, we take the blowback. We take a lot of hits on this show and we stick to our points of view. You have done that brilliantly for four years."

"I hope that you can say that I did the same thing," Behar continued. "I really, really appreciated the fact that you were a formidable opponent in many ways, and that you spoke your mind — and you're no snowflake, missy."

Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

Goldberg mentioned McCain's late father, Sen. John McCain, in her own tribute to her co-host.

"It's been quite wonderful to sit across from you. Your dad was very smart. He wanted you to be here with us because I think he thought we could help toughen you up for what was coming, which was, you know, this wonderful baby you were going to have and his departure," said Goldberg, 64. "So it was an honor when he said, 'Please take my child.'"

Added Hostin, 52, "He also told me to take it easy on Meghan, that I would learn to love her and understand her, and that she would be a pain in the a--, and he was right about all those things. Meghan and I probably talk every day, all the time after the show, we text during the show, and I'll miss those conversations. I think you have a really important point of view and it's just been wonderful."

Listen below to our daily podcast PEOPLE Every Day for more on Meghan McCain's departure from The View.

"It's a full circle moment to know so much of your dad's words brought you here and yet your calling for your daughter and your family is what takes you away," said Haines, 43. "I think it's beautiful, it speaks to the paradigm shift that is the world now on the heels of a 2020, and it has been an honor to sit here with you,"

"You are a tough... That's all I can say on daytime TV," she added with a laugh.

RELATED VIDEO: Meghan McCain Says She Had 'Rough Reentry' to The View After Maternity Leave

Before wrapping up the segment, McCain made a final note about media coverage of the long-running show.

"The media needs to do a better job of covering the women on this show in general," she said. "As Joy pointed out, it is not a fair fight — we are covered with deep misogyny and sexism by the media."

"If five men were doing what we do every day, I really do believe that we'd probably have a Pulitzer Prize at this point," she continued. "And it's always reduced to really reductive coverage, and I implore the media to do better as they cover the rest of you going forward."

"The one thing that we can say about this show: When you leave here, you can take on anything, because everything possible has been fired at you," Goldberg then advised McCain. "So when you leave here, you're a better person, better woman, better mother, better friend."

"We've got a month together," she concluded. "Let's make the most of it."

The View airs weekdays (11 a.m. ET) on ABC.