The talk show co-host completely disagreed with the House Speaker’s warning for athletes not to speak out against atrocities by the Chinese government.
Ana Navarro, 50, didn’t hold back during a “Hot Topics” discussion about Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi’s grave warning to Olympic athletes during a Friday February 4 episode of The View. The frequent guest co-host passionately explained that she felt like the House Speaker’s advice to athletes to not speak out against the Chinese government was “un-American.”
“That is so un-American.”@ananavarro and #TheView blasted House Speaker Nancy Pelosi for “warning athletes they should keep their political opinions to themselves while they’re in China.” pic.twitter.com/yOrLJ916Uz
— Mediaite (@Mediaite) February 4, 2022
Pelosi gave the message to Olympic athletes to be cautious and not protest against China’s human rights violations during a speech on Thursday. “I would say to our athletes: you’re there to compete. Do not risk incurring the anger of the Chinese government, because they are ruthless. I know there is temptation on the part of some to speak out while they are there. I respect that, but I also worry about what the Chinese government might do to their reputations, to their families,” Pelosi said.
After the video of the House Speaker played, Ana said she didn’t “like this at all,” and called out the politician for discouraging athletes. She cited the Uyghur genocide as a prime human rights issue that should be called out. “That’s so un-American. What China has done to the Uyghurs is something that should be protested, and if there’s any athlete who wants to have the courage to do that, and I understand. This is about athleticism, but it’s also a huge worldwide platform,” she said.
Ana then turned her attention to the deciding bodies for the annual Olympic games, and she said that the committee should be more thoughtful when deciding where the games will be held. “The one’s I’m angry at is the International Olympic Committee, who keep looking at places and hosting things at places like Sochi. If we know that China has committed genocide and has imprisoned over one million Uyghurs, why are they being allowed to host an Olympic game, which is a huge honor for any country?” she said.
Joy Behar pointed out that U.S. diplomats have chosen to protest the games by not attending, and she said that Pelosi was being “maternal” and was concerned about something negative happening to any of the Team USA competitors. Guest co-host Star Jones also pointed out that safety was a prime concern. “We want our athletes to be able to go, compete, [and] get home safely,” she said. “When you’re given a platform, like we have right here, you want to speak out, but with no diplomats there, our athletes wouldn’t even have anybody to advocate for them.”
Ana said it was ‘un-American’ for Pelosi to warn Olympic athletes not to speak out against the Chinese government. (Wilfredo Lee/AP/Kent Nishimura/Los Angeles Times/Shutterstock)As the discussion wrapped up, Ana called on Americans to cheer on Team USA regardless. “I think it’s important that we show 100 percent support for our athletes,” she said. “We can be mad at the Olympic committee. We can be mad at China. We can be mad at so many things, but we can’t let our athletes feel that we’re not 100 percent behind them.”
