Veteran political commentator Ana Navarro is stanchly conservative and one of those rare Hispanics who has been loyal to the GOP seemingly forever. Her reasons are justified.
A native of Nicaragua, Navarro fled to Miami in 1980 when she was only eight years old, her family fearful of the instability created by the Sandinista takeover. They were lucky because the majority of people from that impoverished Central American republic didn’t have the means to gather up their meager belongings and leave. For that matter, neither did most middle class Cubans after Fidel’s earlier revolution in 1959. But their mass exodus and relocation to south Florida served as a beacon of hope for all who refused to live under extreme leftist rule.
Navarro made the most of her opportunities, graduating from the University of Miami with majors in political science and Latin American studies. In addition, she obtained a Juris Doctorate from St. Thomas University of Law. While it’s true that Navarro worked as an adviser during the ill-fated presidential campaigns of John McCain and John Huntsman, she remains an outspoken political heavyweight and is not happy that Donald Trump beat the odds and has become president-elect.
“I can very much look into the camera and say that Donald Trump is a racist,” said Navarro during a CNN telecast before the election. “You can’t make textbook racist remarks for a year and say that you’re not a racist.”
Whether Ana’s allegations are true remain open for discussion. Still, her right to lash out is legit. In November 2015, Trump signed a petition circulated by Change.org, which stated that Navarro should be fired by CNN, one of her employers. Then he followed up with one of his classic statements on Twitter for good measure.
“CNN should listen. Ana Navarro has no talent, no TV persona and works for Bush – a total conflict of interest.”
Navarro then responded with a tweet of her own:
“Trump attacks me yet again. So presidential. I’m really bored with it already. But chuckle knowing I irritate him.”
While Navarro was a strong Jeb Bush supporter, there is no proof that she was ever tied to his campaign. And once Bush threw in the towel and suspended his run for office, Navarro tried to boost up her friend Marco Rubio, unfortunately a bit too late. Now with no one left in the Republican arena to champion her values, Ana continues to blast Trump just for the fun of it while making her rounds on CNN, ABC and “The View.” On Trump’s recent immigration speech in Arizona after a whirlwind meeting in Mexico with Enrique Pena Nieto, it was clear that Navarro wasn’t impressed.
“It was a sixth grade proposal without specifics,” she opined. “He never addressed ‘dreamers’ or spouses of U.S. citizens who might be undocumented.
“Immigration is a very delicate topic.”
That statement couldn’t be more accurate, which is why immigration reform in this country is so important. And part of the problem is that past administrations have been so preoccupied with issues on the other side of the world, countries in our own hemisphere have been forgotten. In case Donald The Hater and Crooked Hillary haven’t noticed, socialism in South America is coming to a close, as we have seen with the recent impeachment of Dilma Rousseff in Brazil. As for nearby Venezuela, embattled president Nicolas Maduro seems likely to face the same fate, although the situation could get messy. As a savvy political observer in Latin America, Navarro understands that this is an important crossroads for our neighbors, and she seems to have shifted her focus to make us all aware.
“Venezuela is burning right now,” she tweeted just the other day. “The opposition needs are solidarity.”
As a Miami resident, Navarro can see first hand the flood of immigrants, mostly Venezuelans, who feared for their lives under Maduro’s iron-fist rule. Most of these folks have settled near the community of Westin, Florida, now known locally as “Westinzuela.”
I’m sure Ana Navarro has some vague memories of life as a small girl in Nicaragua. That disgusting little man Daniel Ortega is still there, and will probably be president for life. So Ana, you have my permission to keep taking verbal swings at The Donald. There’s nobody better than you when it comes to being witty and humorously sarcastic. Just remember that we all need you to help make our own region a better place.
As for Mr. Trump, who has flip-flopped on several promises that seemingly got him elected, we will all be watching for Navarro’s sharp critique after the new president’s first 100 days in office.
