Ana Navarro is one of the busiest folks in the political commentary business, working as a commentator for multiple networks — including CNN (and its Spanish-language channel), ABC News, and Telemundo — and as a part-time co-host of The View. And now she’s got another gig: hosting night two of the Democratic National Convention.
If you’ve seen Ana Navarro on TV in the past, you probably already know a lot about Navarro’s politics. Although she’s a lifelong Republican, she is also one of the most vehement critics of the GOP’s top-of-ticket leader Donald Trump and makes no bones about her distaste for him and his acolytes.
But even though you might know how Navarro responds to the current political climate, chances are there are some things about Navarro’s life that might surprise you. Here’s a look at some of the lesser-known details about this famed political strategist.
Navarro and her family fled Nicaragua in 1980
Ana Navarro was born into relative privilege in Nicaragua, as her family owned (and still owns) farmland. However, due to the political turmoil caused by the rise of the Sandinistas, she and her family fled the country and moved to Miami when she was eight — except for her father, who stayed behind to fight alongside the rebel Contras.
Her folks fully returned 10 years later when the Sandinistas were expelled from the government in a democratic election, but she decided to stay behind, telling NPR, “I was graduating from high school. I was going to college, and at some point, you know, during that time in college then law school I realized my life is here. My work is here. My life is here. My interests are here, and you know — and this is where I want to be. This is — this is home. So my parents and a lot of my family did go back and live there, and I’m in Miami.”
She joined the Republican party for a very personal reason
As Navarro later told The New Yorker, she joined the Republican party when she first arrived in the United States because she saw then-President Ronald Reagan express support for the Contras, like her dad: “That was it. Signed, sealed, and delivered for Ronald Reagan and the Republican Party.”
She’d later work for a series of high-profile Republicans, including serving as Florida Governor Jeb Bush’s transition team and as Director of Immigration Policy in the Executive Officer of the Governor; serving as an advisor and surrogate for John McCain during his 2008 run for president; and working for Utah Governor Jon Hunstman Jr.’s 2012 presidential campaign.
What made her truly feel American is surprising
Navarro told NPR that the moment she truly felt like an American was “the day I realized I loved peanut butter.” She claimed that there’s just “no such thing” as peanut butter outside of the U.S., and she first found it to be “so horrifying.” Now, though, it’s her go-to “comfort food” in moments of crisis.
As a student, she worked on behalf of people like herself
While attending law school at St. Thomas University, Navarro worked to help thousands of Nicaraguan refugees avoid deportation under stricter immigration policies (espoused by fellow Republican Newt Gingrich, no less).
She is an active supporter of LGBTQ rights and other traditionally liberal causes
In 2013, Navarro was one of 131 prominent Republican officials to write an amicus brief in support of same-sex marriage before the Supreme Court decided Obergefell V. Hodges. She has also voiced support for other liberal-leaning agenda items, including gun sense laws and reproductive rights.
Her political affiliation changed during Donald Trump’s 2016 run
Though she is a self-described “centrist,” Navarro has always aligned with Republican leadership — until Donald Trump, that is. She was supporting Jeb Bush during the primary and became vocally critical of Trump, vowing to vote for Hillary Clinton instead of the GOP’s nominee. (She has since been openly supportive of other Democrats, including Florida gubernatorial candidate Andrew Gillum, President Joe Biden, and, now, Kamala Harris.)
Related‘The View’ Panelist Ana Navarro Gets Emotional About Hosting at DNC
She is married to a former Florida Republican Party Chairman
In 2019, Navarro married Al Cardenas, an active Republican supporter of Ron DeSantis and former chair of the state’s party for over a decade. He is also an outspoken critic of Trump. In a TV interview from earlier this year, he said that Trump’s re-nomination is a funeral affair, saying, “I’m talking like a funeral with you, you know? 1854, the birth of the Republican Party; 2024, the demise of the Republican Party.”
Even after becoming a regular member of The View‘s panel, she declined a chance to move to New York
Ana Navarro commutes from her home in Miami to New York each week of the show’s production because she does not want to leave her longtime home. She told People, “I have a life that I love there. I have way too much going on there to give up.”
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