Ana Navarro Used The View to Campaign for a Democrat While ABC Is Fighting the FCC in Court

October 1, 2026 Cat2, The Media
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The View has been under federal investigation all year for giving Democrats free airtime.

Ana Navarro just did it again on live television in front of a studio audience.

And Ana Navarro used The View to campaign for a Democrat while ABC is fighting the FCC in court.

Navarro Named the Candidate, Named the District, and Asked the Audience to Vote

This wasn't a slip.

Navarro told The View studio audience to pay attention to Florida's 27th Congressional District – the district she lives in – and vote for Democrat Eliott Rodriguez over Republican Rep. Maria Elvira Salazar.

"We can actually knock this woman out," she said on air.

She called Rodriguez "a great guy" and asked viewers in Coral Gables, Miami, Key Biscayne, and downtown Miami to give him a look.

That's a campaign pitch on a broadcast network from a host who lives in the district.

Salazar – a five-time Emmy-winning former journalist who flipped the seat red in 2020 – won her last race by 20 points.

Navarro's own words acknowledged the race is now dead even in the polls.

Which is exactly why she's using a national television platform to move votes.

ABC Is Currently Suing the FCC Over This Exact Problem

Disney filed a lawsuit against the FCC in August arguing that the agency's equal-time investigation of The View violates the First Amendment and represents unconstitutional retaliation against ABC's programming.

The FCC opened that investigation in February after The View hosted Texas Democrat Senate candidate James Talarico without offering comparable time to his opponents.

FCC Chairman Brendan Carr – appointed by President Trump – challenged The View's long-standing "bona fide news program" exemption that had shielded it from equal-time rules since 2002.

ABC's lawyers went to federal court arguing the scrutiny was already chilling their programming.

Disney CEO Josh D'Amaro told CNBC, "We're not going to be told how to run that side of our business."

Then Ana Navarro went on air and named a congressional candidate.

The FCC's equal-time rule – established in 1934 – requires broadcast stations to give competing candidates comparable airtime once they've aired one candidate's appearance.

It is not satisfied by a news interview.

It is not satisfied by a documentary.

It is not satisfied by a daytime co-host telling viewers in a specific congressional district to go vote for a specific Democrat.

This Is What the FCC Was Trying to Stop

The View hosted a Texas Senate candidate in February.

The FCC said that violated equal-time rules.

ABC sued the FCC.

Then The View's own co-host used the show to endorse a candidate in her own congressional race – while the lawsuit was still pending.

Carr's position has always been that broadcasters hold a federal license that creates a public interest obligation.

"Broadcasters are placed in a special position of trust," Carr said after the 2024 SNL equal-time controversy. "They're not just like any other person with a soapbox on the corner. They have a license from the federal government that obligates them to operate in the public interest."

Ana Navarro is not operating in the public interest.

She's operating in Eliott Rodriguez's interest.

And doing it on ABC's broadcast license – the same license Disney is asking a federal court to protect.

Salazar Now Has Legal Standing to Demand Airtime

Maria Elvira Salazar's campaign has a legitimate basis to demand equal time from ABC affiliates in South Florida.

The FCC – already in active litigation with Disney – has fresh evidence that The View is functioning as a Democrat campaign operation rather than a news program.

And ABC's lawyers have to walk into federal court defending a First Amendment claim on behalf of a show whose co-host just told a studio audience which candidate to vote for in her own neighborhood.

Disney spent months arguing the FCC's pressure was chilling their speech.

Ana Navarro just proved the FCC's case for them.

Sources:

  • Paul Bois, "Ana Navarro Asks ABC's 'The View' Audience to Consider Voting for Democrat Eliott Rodriguez in Florida," Breitbart, September 29, 2026.
  • Liv Caputo, "Ex-reporter Eliott Rodriguez announces challenge to Rep. Maria Elvira Salazar," Florida Phoenix, March 10, 2026.
  • "Disney Sues Trump's FCC Over Alleged Retaliation Against ABC," CNN Newsource/NBC Palm Springs, August 18, 2026.
  • "ABC Airs Anti-FCC Ad Campaign on The View as Agency Investigates Talk Show," Washington Examiner, June 22, 2026.
  • "FCC Investigation: The View Equal Time Rule," Spectrum Local News, February 19, 2026.