THE VIEW co-host Meghan McCain has slammed Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez for dismissing concerns over a surge in violent crime across the US as "hysteria."

In a Monday broadcast of the daytime gabfest, McCain hit back at the Democratic firebrand's remarks, insisting Americans are allowed to be concerned about rising murder rates in some of the country's major cities.

"Facts are stubborn things," McCain began. "There is a huge homicide crisis in the country. And whether or not AOC likes it, it's OK for people to be concerned about a homicide spike.

"I think that's going to be very effective going into the midterms."

McCain also denounced the calls to "defund police", a motion AOC backed, calling it "the stupidest thing I ever heard."

"Democratic strategists are very concerned about how effective the terminology 'defund the police' has been when it comes to voting and voting in primaries," she told her fellow panelists after co-host Sara Haines said she felt the term was used by Republicans to campaign against the left.

"I think it’s important for Republicans to understand that Democrats kowtow to a Twitter audience a lot of times. They kowtow to people in the media. And it has been shown that statistically that if Twitter were a voting bloc, it would be the second most liberal voting bloc … congressional district in the United States," McCain said. 

"So the biggest gift that Republicans have ever been given is the term 'defund the police.' And let's make it very clear: Republicans didn’t come up with that. I thought it was the stupidest thing I ever heard when I first heard it being used."

McCain's broadside against AOC came after the Congresswoman dismissed news reports about rises in violent crime in a number of the US' major cities, including in her native New York.

"We are seeing these headlines about percentage increases," AOC said during a Sunday Zoom meeting with Rep. Jamaal Bowman.

"Now, I want to say that any amount of harm is unacceptable and too much, but I also want to make sure that this hysteria, you know, that this doesn't drive a hysteria and that we look at these numbers in context so that we can make responsible decisions about what to allocate in that context."

Shootings in the Big Apple have increased 64 percent when compared to this time last year, data from the National Fraternal Order of Police shows.

Elsewhere in the country, shootings have spiked 126 percent in Portland over the last 12 months and 51 percent in Los Angeles.

Homicides in New York have jumped 12 percent, NYPD data shows.

Atlanta (+41%), Chicago (+4%), Philadelphia (+36%) and Portland (+533%) have also experienced a surge in homicides.

AOC wasn't only blasted by McCain but also widely on social media for her "hysteria" remark.

Journalist Glenn Greenwald criticized AOC for voting last month to increase Capitol Police funding while insisting that concerns over rising crime rates were hysterical.

"AOC is mocking ordinary people as 'hysterical' who are afraid of violent crime in their neighborhood: people who, unlike her, don't have reams of private security," he tweeted. 

"Yet she just acted to ensure $2 billion more in spending on the police that protects her."

Federalist's Senior Editor Christopher Bedford added: "The biggest spike in violent crime since the United States started keeping records is not 'hysteria,' it's real and so are its victims. This is shameful."

"Until a vagrant breaks into her Tesla or a mob ransacks her Whole Foods, AOC will advocate for policies that mean thousands of *other* people will be victimized by emboldened criminals," Radio host Buck Sexton piled in.

A young Marine was shot in the back by a stray bullet in Times Square on Sunday night, the same evening of AOC's meeting with Bowman.

Samuel Poulin, 21, was hit when a CD peddler opened fire outside of the Marriott Hotel. He was visiting the city from Northville and was walking along the street with his family at the time.

An investigation into the shooting remains ongoing and the gunman remains at large. It's understood Poulin's injuries are not life-threatening.

Outgoing NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio unveiled a new plan to increase police patrols in Times Square in the shooting's wake.

"Now, we've seen patterns in Times Square that we are going to address very, very aggressively," he said.

De Blasio said he wants to "make sure that anyone who goes to Time Square knows they're safe."

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