A Barack Obama photo posted by The View co-host Ana Navarro went viral after social media users criticized her for being overly familiar with the former President.
On Wednesday (August 21), Navarro, a speaker on the second night of the DNC, posted a few images for her run-in with Barack Obama, who also addressed the delegates. His wife, Michelle Obama, also delivered a speech.
Navarro appears to fix Obama’s tie in one image, causing a stir online. Her caption also ruffled feathers.
“Somebody had to fix his tie,” she wrote. “So Chacha and I pitched-in.”
Political commentator April Reign was incensed by the gesture and slammed Navarro in a series of tweets.
“Girl, delete this,’ she began. “You are not that somebody, or whatever Aaliyah said. You know this is out of bounds, which is why you locked the responses.”
Reign continued, “Because what you NOT gon do is imply YOU needed to fix his tie, when Michelle was right around the corner in the green room. You and your purse dog need to remember your place, and it’s not within tie distance of our POTUS. Like literally how dare you.”
While some suggested the gesture was “harmless,” Reign pushed back.
“If it was harmless, she wouldn’t have locked the responses. And there is no way Ana could take Barack from Michelle. Again, I said it’s about respect. Not ‘love love,’” she added. “It is such a familiar gesture. And if she wanted to keep that photo for cutesy anecdotes over dinner at her home, fine. But the caption is wholly disrespectful.”
Reign, the creator of the #OscarsSoWhite hashtag, wasn’t the only person to call out Navarro. Check out some other responses below.
Ana Navarro Explains Barack Obama Interaction
While Navarro didn’t respond to Reign or anybody else on X, she added “context” in her Instagram caption.
“Michelle was on stage,” she said. “This was the moment he walked out of his dressing room to go on stage, last night. There were dozens of ppl lining the halls hoping to catch a glimpse.”
Navarro said she has “been with him many times” since meeting Obama in 2007. “But it was never personal,” she added. “I never doubted his decency, capacity and moral compass. He is a good man.”