Don’t look now, but the Republican Party appears to have a new up-and-coming fabulist in Congress—and her name is Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-FL).
On this week’s episode of Fever Dreams, hosts Will Sommer and Kelly Weill dive into what appears to be a trend for young Republicans with political aspirations—embellishing key elements of their backstories in an attempt to better fit the mold of a GOP congressperson.
Luna, for her part, appears to have mimicked Rep. George Santos (R-NY) with spurious statements about her family’s religious background, at least according to a recent Washington Post profile.
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In an echo of Santos’ expanding library of fabrications, Luna’s friends and family did not recall entire incidents or remembered stories differently than the ones she told on the campaign trail, including a number of tales from her childhood and of an alleged home invasion while she served in the military. When questioned by the Post, a representative for Luna declined to comment—though she has since denied ever lying or embellishing her biography.
Making matters worse, her grandfather appears to have fought for Nazi Germany in World War II.
“You know it’s rough when you’re kind of skimming a profile, kind of a critical profile, and it's like, all right, time to drag out the picture of her grandpa in the Nazi uniform,” Sommer said.
“Yeah, when you see that sepia-toned picture of an ancestor, you know something bad is about to come,” Weill added.
Then, Fever Dreams unpacks all the drama engulfing right-wing undercover video operation Project Veritas, including a number of claims about the difficult workplace culture fostered under founder James O’Keefe.
“It’s very bizarre to see one of the right-wing media’s biggest institutions really tearing itself apart over this,” Sommer said. “I think, fundamentally, a lot of these people are just bad bosses, right? They rise to the top not because they’re good managers or they’re savvy media operatives, but because they’re a little bit weird, a little bit willing to do the mean things that most folks won’t.”
In addition, the podcast is joined by labor reporter and author Kim Kelly, who talks about how her experience as a fan and critic of metal music helped her better understand—and report on—far-right extremists across the U.S.
Listen, and subscribe, to Fever Dreams on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and Stitcher.
