Loading summary
Transcript113 lines
- [00:00]
Ana Navarro
I have seen person after person who I personally knew and admired and thought were different do complete 180s. I have known Marco Rubio since he was very young. I've known Pam Bondi for decades. She and I were friends. We'd Kiki, we'd, you know, together. We'd gossip, we'd drink together. So many people in Congress, so many people that are serving in this administration, so many people that I see on TV defending the indefensible and the unjustifiable because it means they have access to power. But the question is, are you willing to compromise every principle you supposedly stood for, every conviction you supposedly had, every belief you supposedly held in order to stay in that circle of power?
- [00:50]
Joanna Coles
I'm Joanna Coles. This is the Daily Beast podcast. And today we're going to be talking to someone who's steeped in Florida politics and knew Marco Rubio and Pam Bondi before any of the Trump madness sucked them into his orbit. I'm talking about Ana Navarro, the Republican operator who is just bewildered by what has happened to the Republican Party under Trump. And she has opinions on everything. You should hear her opinion on Kristi Noem and Corey Lewandowski. And she doesn't care that the two of them fucked. She cares about is what else Kristi Noem has fucked. Stay tuned for that. She's got literally eye rolls on almost everything that's going on right now. But having grown up in Nicaragua and a dictatorship, she also has real concerns about the Republic of the United States. She's not only the CO host of ABC's the View, but she's the mom of Cha Cha. And she's just started her own podcast, which I highly recommend called Bleep because, well, frankly, she needs to be bleeped a lot. Let's get into it, right? So I'm so excited to have prized you out of the studio of the View and your own studio for bleep, your new podcast to talk about everything. Cause I know you have an opinion on everything. And I definitely want to talk about what on earth is going on in Florida and Marco Rubio and Desantis and all that. But first, we are 12 days into a war. And Pete Hegseth, the Secretary of Defense, slash war, as he would have it, has issued a decree that photographers who don't take flattering photos of him are no longer welcome at the Pentagon. We wrote a very good story on it at the Daily Beast and the headline was Mirror, Mirror. And about this vanity move of his. But what do you think of that? 12 days into a war.
- [02:58]
Ana Navarro
Well, remember also what he did last year, which was to ban some of the longstanding Pentagon correspondence, media correspondence from the Pentagon, and replace them with basically MAGA bloggers or whatever it was.
- [03:16]
Joanna Coles
Right. And he banned the ap, right?
- [03:18]
Ana Navarro
Yeah. I mean, and so the attacks on the press by this administration, whether it's Trump himself or cabinet members, have been endless and it's been from the beginning. And I think as we are in the middle of a war, and I'm glad we're calling it what it is, because I saw that Trump was calling it an excursion. I wonder if he knows what that word means, because for me, an excursion is like a field trip. I think he meant incursion. But either or, it's not an incursion and it's not an excursion. It's a fucking war. So let's call it what it is. And here we are. You know, this guy threw us into war after saying that this is precisely what he wasn't going to do. And this tells you how tragic it is that in this second term he has surrounded himself by all of these yes men and women who, who are not only unqualified when it comes to experience and knowledge, but also have no moral compass, are vain, and know that their only qualification that they have to keep up is kowtowing and brown nosing to Donald Trump. So what a difference it would make to have a John Kelly right in at DHS or in the White House. What a difference it would make to have Mattis Mad Dog Mattis running Department of Defense instead of this guy who seems to relish and take glee in drop drones off the coast of Venezuela and showing us video game type footage of dropping drones on missiles, on ships, laying mines. In this state of the news and his braggadocious self. I guess I'm so disgusted by Pete Hegseth that the idea that he's banning people because they take unflattering pictures of him is like one of the lesser evils. When I start to think about all the things, the fact that this Department of Defense, or aptly called Department of War, has taken illegal military action. Every military expert has said dropping those drones on civilians off the coast of Venezuela and now in the Pacific was an illegal act. And they keep doing it with impunity. And this Congress, which has completely, the Republicans, have ceded their duty of oversight, their duty of providing military approval of operations. They seem to have no issue with it. We've now killed 156 people with these drones on these ships in Latin America. All indications are the US killed over 150 schoolgirls in Iran. And it bothers me greatly that Donald Trump and Pete Hegseth are trying to gaslight the American people and continue saying, oh, we're conducting an investigation, we're conducting an investigation. Instead of acknowledging it as a tragic, horrible mistake and apologizing for it. Something needs to distinguish us, you know, as the good guys from the bad guys.
- [06:39]
Joanna Coles
Someone told me that the school, which was next to a sort of depot for the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, the assumption was because they'd looked at this through Western eyes, that the school would be closed because it was a Saturday when they started, so they knew there was a school there. But because they were just looking at this through American eyes with no understanding of the culture on the ground, when the school was open because it was a Saturday, and kids in Iran go to school on a Saturday, they didn't realize it would be open. And you think they got rid of.
- [07:15]
Ana Navarro
Nobody should say that. Right?
- [07:17]
Joanna Coles
Well, they should say that. And they got rid of all the experts at the Pentagon who know about Iran. And now we've got Pete Hegseth, who doesn't want an unflattering photo of himself. That's his priority.
- [07:27]
Ana Navarro
And also we found out today about the things he's been spending millions and millions of taxpayer dollars on.
- [07:35]
Joanna Coles
Right.
- [07:36]
Ana Navarro
$2 million on snow crab legs.
- [07:40]
Joanna Coles
Right. Cause he loves snow crab legs.
- [07:42]
Ana Navarro
Who doesn't? But I pay for my own.
- [07:44]
Joanna Coles
Right, Right. No, that's absolutely shocking that the expenses that they run up at the end of the year to make sure that they can get the equivalent budget for the following year, he spent on the most frivolous things, not least steak and crab claws.
- [08:00]
Ana Navarro
But it's just, you know, it's just so appalling when Americans can't afford health care, when Americans are being kicked off snap, the SNAP program that you have Donald Trump spending hundreds of millions on a ballroom that nobody needed, talking about an arch, building the arch to Trump in Washington, D.C. making himself so wealthy. I mean, there's just so many things that I think just shock the conscience. And I'm glad that we continue to talk about them. I'm glad you bring them up, because one of my greatest fears is that we all get numb to this because it's just such a daily barrage of ignominious things that it's hard to keep up with this hamster wheel of absurdity.
- [08:52]
Joanna Coles
Let me tell you about this clever way to wake up feeling fresh after a night of drinks with friends. It's called ZBiotics Pre Alcohol Probiotic drink. And it's the world's first genetically engineered probiotic invented by PhD scientists. Here's how it works. When you drink, alcohol gets converted into a toxic byproduct in the gut. It's a buildup of this byproduct, not dehydration, that's to blame for rough days after drinking. Zebiotic's pre alcohol probiotic drink produces an enzyme to break this byproduct down. Just make pre alcohol your first drink of the night. Drink responsibly and you'll feel like yourself the next day. March is packed with social plans, so don't wait. Act now. Go to zbiotics.com dailybeast and use code dailybeast at checkout for 15% off your first order. And if you're not satisfied, they offer a 100% money back guarantee. So you were a Republican, you work for Jeb Bush, you live in Florida, which is still sort of, you know, the bubbling cauldron of Republicanism in a way. How do you square what has happened to the Republican Party? The hijacking of it by Donald Trump and does it survive after Donald Trump leaves?
- [10:19]
Ana Navarro
Listen, I don't square away. I just, I have seen person after person who I personally knew and admired and thought were different do complete 180s. I have known Marco Rubio since he was very young. We're the same age. We grew up in Republican politics in South Florida. I've known Pam Bondi for decades, since she was Attorney General of the state of Florida. She and I were friends. We'd Kiki, we'd together, we'd gossip, we'd drink together. Lindsey Graham, I knew him when he was John McCain's wingman, not Donald Trump's. He's a completely different person than he is today. So many people in Congress, so many people that are serving in this administration, so many people that I see on TV defending the indefensible and the unjustifiable because it means they have access to power. And you know, let's be clear, the trappings of power are very attractive. It's great to be invited to the White House. It's great to be able to go to the Christmas parties. It's great to be able to ride on Air Force One and be able to call up the White House and talk to whomever you want. All of those things are heady things. I know I've done them. But the question is, are you willing to compromise every principle you supposedly stood for, every conviction you Supposedly had every belief you supposedly held in order to stay in that circle of power. I mean, the Marco Rubio I see now, and Marco is one of the.
- [11:55]
Joanna Coles
Yeah, tell me about Marco. How did he do that? 180. I mean, we saw him standing next to Trump in the debates, arguing against him. How did he become his secretary of state? Doing exactly what Trump appears to want.
- [12:11]
Ana Navarro
They all did it, right? I mean, think about the 2016 campaign. Ted Cruz, Lindsey Graham, Marco Rubio, all of them harpooning Trump and calling Trump for what he was, a con man and a grifter. And they've all turned around because they're ambitious for their own. I mean, there's basically, there's two ways to exist in the Republican Party right now. Either you are a Trumper and you approve and say and defend everything he says and does and that benefits your political career, or you're not, and you're probably going to lose your primary, or you're not, you know, or you're going to retire, or you're just not going to be part of the. Look, think about Mitt Romney. Where is Mitt Romney? Nowhere. Think about Jeb Bush. Where is Jeb Bush? Nowhere to be heard from. And so the only way to continue being in elected office or in appointed office in this Republican Party is if you come along and become a Trump acolyte, which all of them have been willing to do, and those who have not been willing to do so are no longer relevant or in politics.
- [13:24]
Joanna Coles
What's the conversation like when Trump's not in the room, when they're all together, because they know they've all done this, right? Marco Rubio understands his journey, doesn't he? Doesn't Lindsey Graham understand that? He went from calling Trump, you know, Froot Loops to now he's encouraging him to go into Cuba. That's his latest thing. Do they have this conversation with each other when the press isn't in the room? Are they saying, oh, my God, he's lost his mind, he's crazy, how can we. How can we contain him?
- [13:53]
Ana Navarro
I don't think so. I think the only way that Marco can look at himself in the mirror is by convincing himself that he believes this. By convincing himself that by him doing the things, completely changing his convictions the way he has regarding Trump, that by him doing that, selling his soul, basically, he's been able to achieve some good things, which I think he believes getting rid of Maduro is a good thing. I think he believes, you know, a dead Ayatollah is a good thing. I think he believes that the possibility of regime change in Cuba is a good thing. And that has the fact that he has sold his soul has enabled him to be in the room doing things that I think are genuinely important to Marco and that he does believe. I think he's also. Listen, he's, you know, he's a poor kid from West Miami, and I think for him, the idea of having his own plane and being at state dinners and being at Mar a Lago and being there in the center of things is just very appealing. But remember who Marco Rubio is. Marco Rubio is a elected official who basically owed his career a great part of it. He was the first speaker of the Cuban American speaker of the Florida House of Representatives legislature. He owed everything to Jeb Bush. Marco is very talented, very eloquent, very smart, very hardworking. Out of that sorry bunch that surrounds Trump, he is by far the most qualified, which I understand is not a high bar, but he is the most qualified.
- [15:41]
Joanna Coles
Right, but this is the guy who
- [15:43]
Ana Navarro
owed everything to Jeb Bush, had said he'd never run against Jeb Bush and then ran against Jeb Bush for president. So it's quite consistent with Marco to do what's best for Marco and whether it's getting reelected to the Senate. If he had stayed in the Senate or getting appointed as a Secretary of State, in order to do either of those things, he would have had to kiss Trump's ass. Because if Trump doesn't endorse you in a Republican primary and endorses somebody running against you, you'll probably lose. Ask Dan Crenshaw.
- [16:21]
Joanna Coles
Right. So I hear from people that go to Mar A Lago that Trump spends a lot of time going round Mar A Lago when he's talking to people at the tables and they're having dinner saying, what do you think of Marco? Marco's doing great, isn't he? What do you think of Marco? Is Marco at the moment the most likely person to over from Donald Trump, do you think, or do you think J.D. vance stands a chance?
- [16:48]
Ana Navarro
I definitely think the Republican base, the MAGA base, likes J.D. vance. I think that is their guy. I think J.D. vance intends to run. He's given every indication you see what he's doing with people like, you know, trying to take up the mantle after Charlie Kirk, you know, really become close and supportive of the widow Erica Kirk. And, you know, it's mutual. And Marco has said that he wouldn't run against J.D. vance, but I'm old enough to remember when he said he wouldn't run against Jeb Bush. So don't hold your breath.
- [17:21]
Joanna Coles
Right. Do you think between the two of them, who do you think would be most likely to get the nomination?
- [17:28]
Ana Navarro
Listen, I think JD Vance is lining everything up behind him. But at the end of the day, whatever Donald Trump decides is going to, I think, determine this, whether I like it or not. The truth is Donald Trump makes or breaks Republican primaries right now, and there is no indication that the next two or three years that's going to change. I think the reason he likes Marco is because Marco is effective and efficient and knows his stuff. And so, you know, he's here's Trump and surrounded by a bunch of nincompoops, right, by Pam Bondi. I mean, listen, I like Pam Bondi. Like I said to you, we were, you know, we were very friendly when she was in Florida, but I wouldn't hire Pam Bondi to defend me from a traffic ticket, you know? Would you.
- [18:22]
Joanna Coles
What do you think of how she's handled the Epstein files?
- [18:25]
Ana Navarro
I think it's disgusting. I mean, I don't know how Pam can live with herself knowing. By the way, I don't know how Merrick Garland can live with himself either. That's one of the things we have to remember and be fair about. And that really just kills me. These Epstein survivors, these women were failed not by the Trump administration, but by four different administrations. It was under George W. Bush that Alex Acosta was U.S. attorney of South Florida and brokered that sweetest of the sweetheart deals with Epstein that allowed him to then, 13 months later, despite being registered as a sex offender, continue molesting girls, raping girls, and living his life like if he was some sort of elite VIP surrounded by powerful people. And, you know, Obama was then president, and then it was. I mean, we have had four different administrations. Trump, Biden. Yes, I fought Merrick Garland. How different would it have been had Merrick Garland released all of these files instead of it being Pam bonding?
- [19:39]
Joanna Coles
Why did it take so long for it to become a head of steam that the Department of Justice felt pushed into releasing them?
- [19:48]
Ana Navarro
Two things I would say to you on the Merrick Garland of it all. I think Merrick Garland was extremely preoccupied with Merrick Garland's reputation. I think he didn't want to be seen as being politicized. I think that's the reason that he prosecuted Hunter Biden. I think that's the reason that he appointed a special counsel to investigate Joe Biden over the classified issues. And I think that's the reason he wasn't more proactive and quick regarding Epstein because of the fear that there would be something regarding Donald Trump or other Republicans there and that he would be seen as political. Pam Bondi, what's the steam? Frankly, let's give credit to where credit is due. It's been maga. It's been the Marjorie Taylor Greene and the Lauren Boeberts and the MAGA blogosphere and podcasters who never let it go. It was Maga who made this into a campaign issue in 2024. It was Maga who never let go of it. It was MAGA Republican women, Nancy Mays, Lauren Boebert, Lauren, Marjorie Taylor Greene, who defied Donald Trump and voted to require the release of these files. Let's remember Lauren Boebert, who was voted with Trump practically 100% of the time, was taken into the Situation Room and bullied to change her vote. That is how much Trump did not want this released. And so I'm disgusted with all of them. I'm disgusted with Pam Bondi. I'm disgusted with Merrick Garland. I'm disgusted with Alex Acosta, who I knew from Miami as well. He was, I mean, at one point, Alex Acosta, after the Epstein thing, after being U.S. attorney, he was the dean of the Florida International University Law School. Alex Acosta served in Trump's first administration as Secretary of Labor, as we all remember. And he was barely questioned about the Epstein deal. It was a nothing burger, ironically enough. In my view. It wasn't until Trump gets elected. And then as a reaction to that, There is a MeToo movement and a time's up, which we saw in the files. Epstein was obsessed with and wanting to.
- [22:12]
Joanna Coles
Well, and constantly trying to sort of create little groups of men where they all got together and just dissed it, Right? Cause they all thought it was ridiculous and they all knew they were guilty.
- [22:23]
Ana Navarro
But it wasn't until that happened, until Trump gets elected. There's a MeToo movement that I think the Epstein survivors, you know, had the ability, the thought that they could be believed and that they had a voice and that they lost the fear. And then it's the Julie K. Brown expose and the Miami Herald. To me, all of those things are connected. The Trump election, the MeToo movement, the expose and the Miami Herald, where the survivors spoke, so many of them. And then where we are, right, because
- [22:58]
Joanna Coles
we had Conchita Sarnoff in the Daily Beast writing about the Epstein situation way before Julie K. Brown did it. It just didn't get any momentum. It didn't pick up.
- [23:09]
Ana Navarro
And there were people who Tried to write about it, and those stories were stopped. There were, you know, I mean, there were stories that were stopped. I think people were afraid of very powerful men and what they can do to you. They can sue you. They can do this. They can. You know, they can put all sorts of. They have. He had all the. All the. He had a little luxuries that come with power. And I think we have learned through the Epstein case. You know, here in America, we love to tell ourselves, everybody's equal under the eyes of the law. Bullshit. Bullshit. Jeffrey Epstein was not equal. You think that if that had been some poor Latino right, in Hialeah, Florida, or some, you know, poor black guy or some poor white guy, you think he wouldn't have served his entire life in jail for sexually assaulting and raping? He had over 1,000 victims. Would somebody else have been able to get away with that? And I was telling you, I think we have given a pass to so many, particularly men, powerful men, people that we admired. Or I can tell you, I admire. I admired Bill Clinton. I admired Bill Gates.
- [24:28]
Joanna Coles
Why do you think Bill Gates was hanging out with Jeffrey Epstein? Bill Gates, at one point, the second richest man in the world. What on earth would Bill Gates need from Jeffrey Epstein that he couldn't get from someone else?
- [24:43]
Ana Navarro
Well, first, I think we shouldn't underestimate Epstein's ability to weave a web of power and influence and just, you know, give himself that aura that normalized what he was doing.
- [24:59]
Joanna Coles
But Bill Gates was hanging out with all these.
- [25:02]
Ana Navarro
Can I tell you something? Always be careful with the nerds. Because all of those nerds, right, they never fucked the cheerleader, right? They never had. They never went. They were never the popular guy at the prom. They were never. They never had. And so I think, you know, I think some of these. I think that's why Epstein hung around and so many tech conferences and science conferences and longevity stuff, because all of those scientists and technical nerds. And not only was he getting information for investments and things, but he was also always weaving this web of, okay, if I surround myself by these powerful people, then these other powerful people will want to be around me and think that it's okay despite what I've done. And I also think that until MeToo happened, most people just kind of shrugged. It was all you got was a shrug when you heard of a older guy, a powerful older guy messing around with a young girl. I think. I think, you know, it was just
- [26:10]
Joanna Coles
the sort of natural lure of things, the Lolita.
- [26:13]
Ana Navarro
Oh, you know, it's The Lolita syndrome. It's okay. You know, I think a lot of people thought that any post pubescent girl, once they were post pubescent, they were fair game.
- [26:28]
Joanna Coles
Right? So let me ask you about another. Don't you. Yeah, I do think that. I do think that. And I think through the lens of. Me too. People have realized. I think women have understood their position differently. But let me ask you about another sexual transaction that's been going on in plain sight that's finally caught up with Kristi Noem and Corey Lewandowski. This was an open scene, secret in Washington open. Big open secret in the Republican Party. What do you think of their relationship? The transformation of Kristi Noem is an interesting thing, Joanna.
- [27:02]
Ana Navarro
The fact that she may have been fucking Corey Lewandowski is the least of my issues with Kristi Noem is the fact that she fucked the Constitution, that she fucked the Latino and immigrant community, that she fucked the country that I worry about. It's the fact that she was the leader of DHS as they killed and shot US Citizens. It is the fact that she had. That she led that department when there were almost, what, 4,000 children detained, that at the same time that the government was shut down and TSA agents weren't getting paid, she was spending hundreds of millions of dollars on an ad campaign. I mean, there's. So.
- [27:52]
Joanna Coles
Which some of her colleagues got money from, too. Right. Let's not forget that this was not just her spending the money on the ad campaign. There was commission coming off the top first.
- [28:01]
Ana Navarro
The ad campaign itself is so ridiculous. And I want people to go look at the ads, right? Because she's on a horse all made up. I don't know anybody who goes on a horse looking like that. But okay, that day she was in. In cowboy Barbie costume. God, she loves a costume. But she's doing this big ad costing hundreds of millions of dollars where she's on a horse in Mount Rushmore in telling immigrants not to come to the United States. I'm pretty sure that the people in El Salvador and Guatemala and Mexico and Nicaragua and Venezuela and Afghanistan and God knows where El. That she was talking to don't speak English and are not watching this ad. So this was nothing but a vanity project. This was, you know, this was not an ad where she. Who was this ad intended for? Really potential undocumented immigrants coming into this country. That is the most ridiculous thing I ever, ever heard.
- [29:08]
Joanna Coles
So who is it? Who is it aimed at? Is this about her run for 2028?
- [29:13]
Ana Navarro
Yeah, I think she I think she saw herself as a potential contender. And I, I think she is a, a vain woman who loved to cosplay different characters. And she just loved the entire thing about the, the, the lashes and the extensions and the makeup and being on TV and the, you know, the, all
- [29:37]
Joanna Coles
that and the play and the plane, the luxury jet that she flew around with with Corey Lewandowski. And we should point out they both,
- [29:45]
Ana Navarro
if she had, you know, if she had produced her own, her own version of Lady Macbeth and gone off Broadway somewhere, she could have gotten all sorts of costumes, period costumes.
- [29:57]
LifeLock Advertiser
Then it's tax season. And at Lifelock, we know you're tired of numbers, but here's a big one
- [30:03]
Ana Navarro
you need to hear.
- [30:04]
LifeLock Advertiser
Billions. That's the amount of money and refunds the IRS has flagged for possible identity fraud. Now here's another big number. 100 million. That's how many data points LifeLock monitors every second. If your identity is stolen, we'll fix it. Guaranteed. One last big number. Save up to 40% your first year. Visit lifelock.com podcast for the threats you can't control. Terms apply.
- [30:28]
Joanna Coles
It's astonishing to me that she spent a quarter of a billion dollars on that ad campaign. It's just crazy. And it took one of the Republican senators in John Kennedy to ask her the killer question, did Donald Trump know about this? Than her clearly obfuscating and going, yes, yes, he knew. And then do you think, do you
- [30:48]
Ana Navarro
think John Kennedy asked that question in coordination with Trump in the White House?
- [30:53]
Joanna Coles
Yeah, of course.
- [30:54]
Ana Navarro
Or do you think it was completely out of.
- [30:56]
Joanna Coles
No, I think he led her to drink. I think he led her very gently, question by question, to the point where she had zero wriggle room. And that was the moment where Trump realized this was terrible for Trump. I'm sure he did know about the campaign though. People were talking about.
- [31:10]
Ana Navarro
Well, the lethal blow is when he, when Senator John Kennedy asks her, did Trump know about this? Did you talk about this with Trump? And she said yes, and he was supportive of it, which Trump alleges is a lie. I actually believe him because I don't think he'd be cool with a quarter of a million dollar ad campaign that wasn't about him. But I, you know, cha cha, part of me, most of me thinks that this was planted, this question and the way it was, was planted by somebody at the White House who realized what a dragon and albatross she is around their necks. We just heard this week that the White House is instructing Republicans running for election this November. To stop talking about mass deportations.
- [32:05]
Joanna Coles
Right, right. Because they know how bad it's been. Of course, they give her the face saver of she's going to be part of a new group that deals with South America. Do you think she sat there, what
- [32:17]
Ana Navarro
have we done in Latin America to deserve the scour of Christine?
- [32:23]
Joanna Coles
Oh, but do you think.
- [32:24]
Ana Navarro
I will say, though, I think she's gonna get such great photo ops.
- [32:28]
Joanna Coles
She will.
- [32:29]
Ana Navarro
Can you imagine her in Brazil? Of course, she's playing Carmen Miranda with bananas and pineapples on her head.
- [32:37]
Joanna Coles
I mean, right. And she'll go full explorer in Patagonia.
- [32:41]
Ana Navarro
Oh, Dora the Explorer.
- [32:42]
Joanna Coles
Dora the Explorer. But do you think.
- [32:45]
Ana Navarro
So now she brings Corey Lewandowski with her?
- [32:47]
Joanna Coles
I don't think. Well, she won't be useful to Corey anymore, will she? Won't he move on to someone else? Do you remember when she got her bag stolen? I was gonna say it wasn't a Mexican restaurant. It wasn't a Mexican restaurant. No, it was a burger. It was a burger.
- [33:00]
Ana Navarro
Was she? And her Rolex, remember?
- [33:02]
Joanna Coles
That's right. And didn't she have a ton of cash, too?
- [33:05]
Ana Navarro
Yeah. You know, the question somebody should be asking and investigating is since she was awarding all of these multimillion dollar contracts to cronies, what was she getting in exchange, if anything? That to me is a legitimate question because she seemed to be living pretty high on the hog.
- [33:28]
Joanna Coles
Yep. Yep. High on the hog. Although her husband has Brian spelled with a Y.
- [33:36]
Ana Navarro
Horns coming out of his head.
- [33:38]
Joanna Coles
Well, his family say that 20 years ago he realized he had a calling from God. That his calling was to support Kristi Noem in her pursuit of power. So that's why they're still together. Cause as you point out, the relationship with Corey has been going on for some time. We are led to believe, though, they both deny it. All right, so I have another question for you. Trump's health. What do we think?
- [34:05]
Ana Navarro
We think there's obviously something going on there, right? I mean, it's not. You don't need to be a trained doctor, which I'm not. To see the size of his ankles, to see the bruises on his hands, to see that, the latest thing, that, that scab, whole thing going on in his neck to see the. The obvious deterioration, mental deterioration, and know that there's something going on there. But we're never going to know. They're never going to tell us. Right. If. But if it had been Biden, the Republicans would be screaming holy murder right now. And I, And I do think, I do think that at some point it's not going to be now because we just that's this Congress is incapable of something like that. But there's so many things that where Trump has shown the weaknesses of this system and that if we actually had a Congress with a spine, they would do something about it. Whether it's transparency in the candidates and certainly precedents, health and finances. Right. We've still not his tax returns. Tightening the loopholes on the grifting by families. But of course that would mean that Congress would have to do something about all of the dumb nephews and children of congressmen and senators who have phantom lobbying jobs or consulting jobs with companies benefiting from access to to their fathers or mothers. So that's not going to happen, but that should happen. So you know, we have seen the conflict of interest, the grifting, the violation of the Hatch Act. I mean it's just one thing after another where again this Congress, the Republican leadership in Congress has ceded their duty to provide oversight and to be a check and a balance on the executive, which is why I hope and think that the American people are going to provide that check and balance by voting them out in November.
- [36:15]
Joanna Coles
And it feels like we're already in the run up to the midterms, doesn't it? So I'm very curious. You are a well known Republican. I guess operative is the right word in Florida. Are you just banned from everything now? Does anybody talk to you anymore? What happens when you run across Marco Rubio or Pam Bondi? Do you ever see them? Do you ever come across them?
- [36:38]
Ana Navarro
Well, they now no, I haven't seen them. I think the last time I saw Marco in person was about a year ago when we both attended the funeral of a former Republican congressman, Lincoln Diaz Bollard. His brother is serving in Congress now. Mario Diaz Bolart and Lincoln Diaz Bollart, his other brother is with MSNBC and now or MSN now? Ms. Now and now he's a stay with NBC. Jose Diaz Willard. But Marco was at Lincoln Diaz Willard's funeral and I was at Lincoln Diaz well arts funeral. Lincoln was a Republican who I but he was like a brother to me. And what happens? Well, I'm in Miami and a lot of times I run into people who are friends of mine, not just elected officials but just, you know, people who were, you know, who are staunch Republicans. They'll call me a communist or they'll turn their face at me. I've lost friendships over it. Whatever, you know, it's the world we live in now. And if a friendship is defined by political agreements or disagreements, then it's not much of a friendship. I've learned to live with it at this point. And, you know, it is what it is. I mean, there was a time in this country, and if you're old enough, you remember this, when people could have vocal, strong, loud disagreements on politics and still be friends. I remember being on CNN with Donna Brazile during the Obama administration and me being incredibly critical of some of the things Barack Obama was doing and Donna defending them. We were having debates on tv, and afterwards we'd go and have oysters and wine at the local watering hole. Donna Brazil is like, the only person. I think I'm the only person who can match Donna oyster for oyster and drink for drink. That's pretty much a thing of the past these days. Trump made it so that, you know, you can't even be a Republican who disagrees with Trump and be at the same dinner table with Trumpers. It's just become incredibly difficult. We've become polarized in a way that I never imagined we could be.
- [39:04]
Joanna Coles
So, final question. You grew up in Nicaragua. You experienced dictatorship from both sides, actually, from Somoza on the right and then Ortega on the left. Do you think America under Donald Trump is actually a dictatorship at this point? I mean, are there things that structurally worry you about the future of democracy in America?
- [39:31]
Ana Navarro
Yes. Do I think it's a dictatorship? No, because we still have mostly independence in the courts, and I think they've, you know, they have been doing their part in trying to keep democracy alive. I think that our system of checks and balances was not designed, when the Founding Fathers were drawing it up. It was not designed to have somebody that's got the dictatorial tendencies that Donald Trump does. I take the word dictatorship very seriously. It's not something I throw around lightly because I've lived.
- [40:11]
Joanna Coles
Right. That's why I'm asking.
- [40:12]
Ana Navarro
Under Ortega, I was very small. When Somoza was in power, when the revolution happened in Nicaragua, I was eight years old. But I've lived in Miami my entire life, surrounded by Venezuelans and Cubans who fled dictatorship and Haitians who have fled dictatorship. So are there things that are dictatorial like, that are reminiscent? Yeah. When you see the attacks on the free press, when you see the attacks on institutions like universities, when you see the weaponization of government against political opponents like James Comey. Yes. When you see the enrichment of the person in power and his family, you know, all those are all things. When you see that dictators do, when you see Donald Trump trying to lie and change election results and stay in power through violence, which was January 6th. That's what Maduro did in Venezuela. He lost that election to Maria Corina Machado, that poor woman who gave Donald
- [41:26]
Joanna Coles
Trump her Nobel Peace Prize. What was she thinking?
- [41:29]
Ana Navarro
If I was her, I'd be at the White House knocking down that gate, asking for my medal back. Because every time anybody puts a mic in front of him, he starts talking about how great Delsey Rodriguez, Maduro's vice president, who was part and parcel of every human rights violation that that regime perpetrated on the Venezuelan people. But all Trump can do is talk about how great she is, how wonderful it is to work with her, how wonderful it is to a person she is, how it's a great collaboration. In the meantime, he's got Maria Corina Machado's Peace Prize medal hanging in the White House somewhere, and he keeps throwing that poor woman under the bus. He doesn't even mention her name.
- [42:13]
Joanna Coles
Right. Well, this is why you can't give in to bullies, Right? The minute you give in to them or the minute you suck up to them, they just want more.
- [42:19]
Ana Navarro
That part.
- [42:20]
Joanna Coles
All right, so let me ask you something. You are a vociferous defender of. Of Jimmy Kimmel. When his show was suspended and you were very powerful on the View, there were stories that Bob Iger, the CEO of abc, had come to one side and said, hey, you guys have to lay off Trump. You have to be easier. And he'd in particular, taken you off to one side. What was that moment like?
- [42:43]
Ana Navarro
Well, I'm not gonna talk about private conversations with Bob Iger or any of the executives. I can tell you this much. The View viewership is incredibly loyal. And I think the reason that show works, and we are now on the 29th season, it was created by Barbara Walters. We're turning 30 next year, is because they expect from the hosts on their authenticity and transparency, and they expect us to take on some very tough hot topics and discuss them honestly. If we don't, they know that if we change, they know that the show is right now number one daytime talk show in America. And I think it's because of that formula and because that formula hasn't changed. So we continue to do what we do. You know, if you tune in every day, we are talking about the abuses of power and calling them out and giving different perspectives on what's happening. We all see the efforts by the Trump administration to muscle anybody or any institution, any company that is critical of him. They may try, but they haven't muzzled the women of the View yet. And I think we take our responsibility to be accurate, to be truthful, to be engaged very seriously. I consider it a privilege to have that kind of national platform because a lot of people get their news from the View. A lot of people are not tuning in to CNN or msn. Ms. I keep saying it wrong. What the hell is it called now?
- [44:43]
Joanna Coles
Ms. Now. Ms. Now. Ms. Now.
- [44:45]
Ana Navarro
You know, 24 hours a day are not reading the New York Times a lot. We've seen that local newspapers have taken such a hit lately. There's less and less local newspaper coverage of national, big national stories because of lack of resources and support. So I take that job very seriously. We all do. And, you know, we continue doing what we. What we've been doing for 29 years.
- [45:13]
Joanna Coles
Well, congratulations on reaching your 30th anniversary. That's an extraordinary achievement in television. And it's fantastic to talk to you. I mean, it's so liberating to hear someone just feel free to say what they think. And I love your line about Christine Ohm that you don't care if she fucked Corey Lewandowski. You care she fucked the country. Anna Navarro. Very good line. Very good line.
- [45:40]
Ana Navarro
Why I started this new podcast bleep, right? Because those things I can't say on tv, right? Not because somebody's telling me not to say them, but because they're an FCCC violation at 11am in the morning. So I have. I actually have gotten bleeped on network TV with some frequency. And then I tried to curse in Spanish and thought they won't know what I'm saying, maybe, you know, but they, they've kind of caught on to me. So at this point, if I say anything in Spanish, if I say queso, they will bleep me out, just to be on the safe side. And so the, the reason that I named the podcast BLEEP is because it's a place where we can be uncensored, unfiltered, unbleeped, and, you know, and just talk truthfully. And I think this new podcast space is so refreshing because it is so free.
- [46:39]
Joanna Coles
Well, and what's fun about watching BLEEP is you're sitting there in your kind of comfy chair. You've sometimes got a glass of something, you're raising your glass, you've got cha cha on there, and you look like you're having fun. You're chatting away, you've got opinions on everything, which is what makes great, great, you know, What I don't have opinions
- [46:57]
Ana Navarro
on, I need to find some opinions on. I need to have an opinion on Timothee Chalamet. I don't even know how to say his name.
- [47:05]
Joanna Coles
You really don't.
- [47:06]
Ana Navarro
And the opera and the ballet thing, do you have an opinion on that?
- [47:09]
Joanna Coles
On the what?
- [47:10]
Ana Navarro
Do you not know?
- [47:11]
Joanna Coles
What's the last bit?
- [47:12]
Ana Navarro
What's the last opera and ballet?
- [47:14]
Joanna Coles
Oh, yeah, I do know that. And he. He's sort of right. Which is why, you know, nobody goes to see the opera anymore or the people that do.
- [47:23]
Ana Navarro
I will tell you this. I was a Three Tenors groupie at a point I went to see.
- [47:28]
Joanna Coles
Yeah, but what happened to the Three Tenors?
- [47:30]
Ana Navarro
Pavarotti's dead.
- [47:32]
Joanna Coles
Right.
- [47:32]
Ana Navarro
But Jose Carreras, I think, is almost dead.
- [47:35]
Joanna Coles
And the other one got me too, right. Placido, unfortunately, who I saw in the Scala and who was fantastic. I also was the Three Tenors girl. And I don't mind going to the opera, but I'm always struck when I do go to the opera how old the audience is. So maybe it's something that we all come to later in Life. You turn 70, you get a membership to the opera. But I think people are gonna be on YouTube watching bleep instead.
- [48:04]
Ana Navarro
I hope so. I hope podcasting is not a dead art.
- [48:09]
Joanna Coles
I think it's just beginning. I think, Chacha, you should have your own podcast. You could have a dog podcast. You could interview my dog. Chacha looks strangely at home in a podcast studio.
- [48:21]
Ana Navarro
Chacha's strangely at home anywhere. She's a very comfortable dog.
- [48:24]
Joanna Coles
Yeah. Very sweet dog.
- [48:25]
Ana Navarro
She lives in my next life. I want to come back as Chacha. I want to be carried around everywhere. I want somebody to pay for every morsel of food that I eat. I want to be loved and pampered and go everywhere.
- [48:37]
Joanna Coles
And she doesn't need extensions. Anna, thank you so much, so much for coming in. So much fun. How great to have Anna Navarro's opinions unbleeped. Unbleeped is what she should have called her podcast. Nice. Not filtered by the networks, but just raw Navarro isms, which give us an insight into what she really thinks about the madness that's going on. Anyway, if you have been. Thank you for joining us. Leave us a comment on what you think about Anna's opinions. Leave us a comment about Cha Cha, my latest obsession. And don't forget to join the Daily Beast community subscribing. If you haven't done, sign up for the Daily Beast, where we keep you up to date. Moment by moment with everything that's going on, Pete Hegseth's latest vanities, what else he's been spending money on at the Pentagon. And don't forget to listen to Anna Navarro's podcast. It's super fun and I'm looking forward to having her back on to talk about, well, everything that's going on. And as our first lady would have us say, don't, don't forget Beast. So the good news is we have so many Beast Tier members now, there are too many names to read out. And we really appreciate your support. Thanks to our production team. Devon Rogerino, Ryan Murray, Rachel Passer, Heather Passaro, Neil Rosenhaus.