Ana Navarro, co-host of "The View," compared lawmakers visiting Mar-a-Lago to "trekking down to Mecca to see the prophet." Her remark came during Monday’s discussion about Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., meeting with Donald Trump ahead of his inauguration.
Trump called Fetterman "fascinating" and said he couldn’t be "more impressed" after their meeting at the Florida residence, according to the Washington Examiner.
Navarro wasn’t thrilled about it. "The optics of him going down to Mar-a-Lago… it’s become Donald Trump’s little palace. It’s like trekking down to Mecca to see the prophet. I don’t like that," she said. "It feels like he’s yucking it up, but this used to be normal."
Sunny Hostin agreed. "I don’t like the optics of going to Mar-a-Lago and kissing the ring," she said. Hostin criticized Trump for not being in Washington, noting, "He should’ve been transitioning with his team, but he refused to sign the GSA agreement."
Still, both hosts praised Fetterman’s political savvy. Navarro admitted, "I think John Fetterman is right, but I hope this doesn’t mean he won’t call out abuses of power or criticize when it’s legitimate."
The hosts expressed similar frustrations when MSNBC’s Mika Brzezinski and Joe Scarborough met with Trump at Mar-a-Lago. They suggested the pair was also "bending the knee" to him.
Sara Haines and Alyssa Farah Griffin, however, applauded Fetterman for his approach. They described him as an objective and responsible politician.
Fetterman defended his actions in a post on X. "It’s appropriate and my responsibility as a U.S. Senator to have conversations with President-elect Trump’s nominees," he wrote in December.
"My votes will come from an open mind and informed opinion after those conversations. That’s not controversial. It’s my job," he added.