Ana Violeta Navarro-Cárdenas (née Navarro Flores;[1] born December 28, 1971)[2] is a Nicaraguan-American political strategist and commentator. She appears on various television programs and news outlets, including CNN, CNN en Español,[3] ABC News, and Telemundo.[4] She is also a co-host of the daytime talk show The View,[5] garnering Daytime Emmy Award nominations for her work.

Ana Navarro
Navarro in November 2017
Born
Ana Violeta Navarro Flores

(1971-12-28) December 28, 1971 (age 52)
Chinandega, Nicaragua
Alma materUniversity of Miami (BA)
St. Thomas University (JD)
Occupation(s)Political commentator, strategist
Employers
Political partyRepublican
Spouse
(m. 2019)

Navarro has described her political position as "centrist".[6] Although she considers herself a member of the Republican Party,[7][8][9] she has been a vocal critic of Republican president Donald Trump and his administration.[10][11] She spoke in support of Kamala Harris's presidential campaign at the 2024 Democratic National Convention.[12]

Early life and education

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Born in 1971 to a wealthy land-owning agricultural family in Nicaragua,[13] Navarro is the daughter of Violeta Flores López and José Augusto Navarro Flores, a former Minister of Agriculture under the administration of Enrique Bolaños Geyer.[1] She and her family moved to the United States in 1980 because of political turmoil,[1] though her father stayed behind to continue to fight with the Contras against the Sandinista government. She later said that then-U.S. President Ronald Reagan's support of the Contras made her a lifelong Republican.[14]

Navarro attended the Carrollton School of the Sacred Heart, a private Catholic college preparatory day school for girls in Coconut Grove, Miami.[15] Navarro earned a Bachelor's degree in Latin American Studies and Political Science in 1993 from the University of Miami. In 1997, she earned her Juris Doctor from St. Thomas University School of Law.[16]

During her first year in university, Navarro campaigned for aid to the Contras.[13] As a law student, Navarro successfully fought to keep Nicaraguan refugees from being deported during the mid-nineties.[14]

Career

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Navarro is a member of the Republican Party.[7][12] She has served in a number of Republican administrations, including as part of the transition team for Florida Governor Jeb Bush in 1998 and also as his Director of Immigration Policy. She also served as ambassador to the United Nations Commission on Human Rights, where she condemned human rights violations in Cuba. She later served as the National Co-Chair of the Hispanic Advisory Council for John McCain in 2008 and Jon Huntsman Jr. in 2012.[13]

In February 2014, she became a political commentator for ABC News.[17] In addition, she is also a political commentator on CNN and CNN en Español.[15] Navarro became a contributor on the ABC daytime talk show The View in 2013.[18] She joined the series as a weekly guest co-host in 2018 and a permanent co-host in 2022.[19] She received Daytime Emmy Award nominations for Outstanding Informative Talk Show Host in 2020 and 2022 as well as Outstanding Daytime Talk Series Host in 2024.[20][21][22]

Political positions

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Navarro has described herself as a centrist.[6]

 
Navarro in 2016

Navarro supported Jeb Bush's 2016 presidential campaign.[23] In October 2016, she made headlines when she strongly criticized Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump on CNN after the Donald Trump and Billy Bush recording surfaced, and called for party leaders to disown Trump.[24][25] She also harshly criticized Trump's comments about immigrants, labeling him a racist.[26] Navarro has been labeled a "Never Trumper."[27] She voted for Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton, stating that she decided to do so after seeing how close the race in Florida had become.[23]

Navarro was a vocal opponent of Roy Moore in the 2017 Alabama Senate election, due to the allegations of sexual assault and molestation against him.[28] In the 2018 Florida gubernatorial election, Navarro voted for Democrat Andrew Gillum over Republican Ron DeSantis because of DeSantis' ties to Trump.[6] On August 11, 2020, she stated that she would be voting for Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden in the 2020 United States presidential election.[29] She and George Lopez hosted an online concert fundraiser for Biden on October 25, 2020.[30]

She is a strong supporter of LGBTQ+ rights. In February 2013, Navarro publicly supported the legalization of same-sex marriage in an amicus curiae brief submitted to the U.S. Supreme Court.[31] In 2017 she spoke out against the Trump Administration's ban on Transgender Individuals serving in the Military, calling it "repugnant".[32] In 2019 she was given the Ally Leadership Award by Equality California for her activism in support of the LGBTQ+ Community.[33] In 2022 she criticized the passage of the Florida Parental Rights in Education Act calling it "completely unnecessary" and in 2023 spoke out against Drag Panic and anti-drag legislation saying "I hate how drag queens are being made into a political issue, into a manufactured, made-up cultural issue, because I tell you what: No drag queen ever killed a little kid … Guns kill little kids If you care about children and their safety, Go after the guns, and leave the f*cking drag queens alone!” [34][35]

After the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade—which had legalized abortion nationwide—while personally pro-life, she spoke out in support of abortion rights, citing family members who have difficulty caring for relatives with physical and developmental disabilities.[36]

The day after the Robb Elementary School shooting in May 2022, Navarro declared strong support for increased gun control efforts, including an Assault Weapons Ban. She criticized the National Rifle Association of America and other Gun Lobby groups, as well as officials in her own party, saying, "I would like Republicans to show the same energy that they do for banning books, and banning conversations about gays, and banning conversations about black history, and regulating my uterus, I want them to show the same energy for banning guns."[37]

While continuing to identify as being a Republican, Navarro is supportive of Democratic nominee Kamala Harris in the 2024 United States presidential election, and acted as the official emcee of the second evening of the 2024 Democratic National Convention.[38][39]

Personal life

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Navarro resides in Miami.[14][40] She married lawyer and lobbyist Al Cárdenas on March 2, 2019.[41]

In 2020, Navarro was named by Carnegie Corporation of New York as an honoree of the Great Immigrants Award[42]

References

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  1. ^ a b c Stated on Finding Your Roots, November 14, 2017
  2. ^ Vilchez, Anagilmara (June 8, 2016). "A Nicaraguan who Advises Republicans - Havana Times.org". Havana Times. Retrieved October 6, 2016.
  3. ^ "Ana Navarro". Harvard Institute of Politics. Fall 2013. Retrieved August 27, 2016.
  4. ^ "Ana Navarro (@ananavarro) | Twitter". Retrieved October 11, 2016.
  5. ^ "'The View' Names Ana Navarro and Alyssa Farah Griffin as Co-Hosts for Season 26". August 4, 2022.
  6. ^ a b c Navarro, Ana (November 3, 2018). "Ana Navarro: Why I'm voting for Andrew Gillum (a Democrat!)". CNN. Archived from the original on November 2, 2018. Retrieved June 3, 2021.
  7. ^ a b "Navarro tells View co-hosts she's still a Republican, like it or not", people.com. Accessed April 22, 2022.
  8. ^ Ortiz, Andi (March 8, 2024). "'The View': Ana Navarro Leads '4 More Years' Chant Over Biden's SOTU". The Wrap.
  9. ^ Sesin, Carmen (August 7, 2020). "Biden camp taps Republican Trump foe Ana Navarro to rev up Latino voters". NBC News.
  10. ^ Saad, Nardine (August 4, 2022). "'The View' officially adds ex-Trump staffer Alyssa Farah Griffin, co-host Ana Navarro". Los Angeles Times.
  11. ^ Darcy, Oliver (August 4, 2022). "ABC names Alyssa Farah Griffin and Ana Navarro as permanent co-hosts on 'The View'". CNN.
  12. ^ a b Alund, Natalie Neysa. "Ana Navarro, 'The View' co-host, political commentator to appear at DNC convention Tuesday". USA TODAY. Retrieved August 21, 2024.
  13. ^ a b c Smith, Adam C. (February 7, 2013). "GOP operative Ana Navarro a warrior for the cause". Tampa Bay Times. Retrieved September 19, 2018.
  14. ^ a b c Blitzer, Jonathan (October 19, 2016). "Ana Navarro's One-Woman Revolt Against Donald Trump: Off the air with the Republican strategist". The New Yorker. Retrieved January 10, 2019.
  15. ^ a b "Biography". The View. Archived from the original on August 30, 2016. Retrieved August 27, 2016.
  16. ^ "Ana Navarro". Harvard Institute of Politics. Retrieved August 17, 2016.
  17. ^ Horowitz, Jason (May 12, 2015). "Jeb Bush, Ana Navarro and the Question That May Have Been Misheard". The New York Times. Retrieved August 27, 2016.
  18. ^ "Season 19 of 'The View' kicks off with new cast, old favorite". August 25, 2015. Archived from the original on July 29, 2017.
  19. ^ Wagmeister, Elizabeth (August 4, 2022). "'The View' Names Ana Navarro and Alyssa Farah Griffin as Co-Hosts for Season 26". Variety. Archived from the original on August 5, 2022. Retrieved August 4, 2022.
  20. ^ Nordyke, Kimberly; Howard, Annie (May 21, 2020). "Daytime Emmy Awards: 'General Hospital' Tops Nominations". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved May 22, 2020.
  21. ^ Schneider, Michael (June 24, 2022). "Daytime Emmys 2022 Winners List". Variety. Archived from the original on June 26, 2022. Retrieved June 26, 2022.
  22. ^ Robinson, KiMi (April 18, 2024). "2024 Daytime Emmys: List of nominees, including Dick Van Dyck, more". USA Today. Archived from the original on April 30, 2024. Retrieved May 22, 2024.
  23. ^ a b Conway, Madeline (November 7, 2016). "Ana Navarro says she voted for Clinton". Politico. Retrieved August 24, 2020.
  24. ^ Crockett, Emily (October 8, 2016). "GOP strategist Ana Navarro unleashed hellfire on CNN over Trump. It's must-see TV". Vox. Retrieved October 11, 2016.
  25. ^ "Ana Navarro has become the voice of the outraged Republican woman". Miami Herald. Retrieved October 11, 2016.
  26. ^ Rebecca Shapiro (October 7, 2016). "CNN's Ana Navarro Demolishes Trump In 2 Languages: 'He Is a Flat-Out Racist!'". HuffPost.
  27. ^ Manchester, Julia (October 11, 2018). "'Never Trump' Republicans are 'extinct,' says pollster". The Hill. Retrieved November 14, 2018.
  28. ^ "10 Latinas who dominated 2017 – The Lily". The Lily. December 26, 2017. Retrieved December 28, 2017.[permanent dead link]
  29. ^ Navarro-Cárdenas, Ana [@ananavarro] (August 12, 2020). "I spoke to @JoeBiden yesterday. We talked many issues...Trump pitting Latinos vs A-A's, Trump's hypocrisy on Cuba/Venezuela. I told him my family's had a hard time w/Covid. What a decent, empathetic, humble leader he is. I'm voting for him, even if he picks a cactus as VP.🇺🇸" (Tweet). Retrieved August 24, 2020 – via Twitter.
  30. ^ Biden, Joe (October 25, 2020). "I Will Vote Concert ft A$AP Ferg, P!nk, Cher, John Legend, & MORE". Youtube. Retrieved October 26, 2020.
  31. ^ Avlon, John (February 28, 2013). "The Pro-Freedom Republicans Are Coming: 131 Sign Gay-Marriage Brief". The Daily Beast. Archived from the original on March 1, 2013. Retrieved March 7, 2020.
  32. ^ Navarro on trans ban: Trump was a draft dodger | CNN Politics, August 26, 2017, retrieved May 7, 2023
  33. ^ Zonkel, Phillip (October 2, 2019). "Ana Navarro receives Equality California award, condemns Donald Trump". Q Voice News. Archived from the original on June 27, 2020. Retrieved May 7, 2023.
  34. ^ "'The View': Ana Navarro Says 'Don't Say Gay' Bill Sends 'Chilling' Message". February 9, 2022. Archived from the original on February 9, 2022. Retrieved May 7, 2023.
  35. ^ Hudson, David (January 18, 2023). "Ana Navarro has a message for Ron DeSantis and others: "Leave the f*cking drag queens alone!"". Queerty. Archived from the original on January 18, 2023. Retrieved May 7, 2023.
  36. ^ Wulfsohn, Joseph A. (June 24, 2022). "Roe v. Wade overturned: CNN pundit cites relatives with Down syndrome, autism to defend abortions". Fox News. Archived from the original on June 25, 2022. Retrieved July 4, 2022.
  37. ^ "'The View' Hosts Rage Against GOP on Guns: If 'Thoughts and Prayers' Were Real, 'You'd Have Done Something' (Video)". May 25, 2022. Archived from the original on May 25, 2022. Retrieved May 7, 2023.
  38. ^ Wagmeister, Elizabeth (August 18, 2024). "Kerry Washington, Mindy Kaling and more will serve as DNC hosts". CNN.
  39. ^ Lee, Chantelle (September 12, 2024). "Ana Navarro Is Engaging Across Party Lines". TIME. Retrieved October 11, 2024.
  40. ^ "Ana Navarro". Politic365. Archived from the original on August 27, 2016. Retrieved August 27, 2016.
  41. ^ Polus, Sarah (March 4, 2019). "CNN's Ana Navarro weds lobbyist Al Cardenas in star-studded Miami bash". The Washington Post. Retrieved August 24, 2020.
  42. ^ "AI pioneer named to Carnegie Corporation's annual great immigrants list". UCLA. Retrieved June 25, 2024.

Further reading

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