Ana Navarro was always supposed to serve as a celebrity host at this year’s Democratic National Convention. In fact, she was offered the role when President Joe Biden was still in the race.
“I was supposed to do Kamala Harris’ night,” Navarro told me Tuesday night during a phone call from a car. The “View” co-host and CNN commentator was traveling from Chicago’s United Center to an after party featuring a performance by John Legend.
“I’ve known Joe Biden for 25 years and Kamala for about seven,” Navarro continued. “Kamala and I, it’s not a political friendship. It’s a genuine friendship. We’ve laughed together. We’ve cried together. We have cussed together. We have danced together.”
Navarro hosted the DNC Tuesday evening after Tony Goldwyn did so on Monday. Mindy Kaling will host Wednesday while Kerry Washington will take on the fourth and final night on Thursday, when Harris is set to formally accept the party’s nomination.
Navarro, a GOP strategist known for her outspoken criticism of Donald Trump, jokes about her moment in the primetime spotlight: “I haven’t had a carb or a drink in at least a week.”
You’ve attended conventions before, but what was it like being back hosting an night of the DNC?
This is incredibly special for many reasons. Kamala Harris is my friend. I love her, and I admire her. She has captured lightning in a bottle. There’s this extraordinary joy and enthusiasm. And my god, we’re nominating an incredibly qualified woman. We have another shot at making history.
When you started out in Republican politics, could you have ever imagined you’d host a night of the Democratic National Convention?
I never thought, as a little refugee girl from Nicaragua, that I would ever be at a convention, much less be on stage at a convention. There is no larger celebration of democracy than a political convention. It’s an incredible privilege. The energy was ecstatic. I just wish my mom and Kamala’s mom had been around to watch it.
Did your dog ChaCha need a special credential to get into the convention?
No, she’s ChaCha. She came in and immediately took on the role of emotional support poodle for the entire convention. She has a brand new red, white and blue star-spangled collar and leash. Doug Emhoff petted her and so did Barack Obama. ChaCha is a very politically astute dog. ChaCha is going to be chair of dogs for Kamala.
Variety reported today that you weren’t allowed to mention your work with “The View” while you were hosting. Is that the usual case when you’re doing political work?
It is. When you’re doing political work, you’re representing yourself. I fully understand and support that request.
How confident are you that Kamala Harris is going to be the next president?
I don’t take anything for granted. I think it’s going to be a very close race and I just hope that people have learned their lesson from 2016. There were a lot of people who didn’t vote because they thought Hillary Clinton had it in the bag. They then had to live with that great remorse for four years.
Are you hoping for a role in the Harris administration if she wins?
Yes. I want to be a presidential friend. All I really want is for me and ChaCha to be at the inauguration. I’ll get ChaCha a little faux fur.
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