The Post article points to other apparent exaggerations or inconsistencies in Luna’s background.
For example, she claims to have been raised by a single mother with little support from extended family or her father, who she and her mother claim was often imprisoned for various crimes. But relatives claim Luna received extensive support from other family members, and the Post could not find records of her father being incarcerated in Orange County, Florida, where they lived. Furthermore, though Luna has repeated a harrowing story of surviving a traumatic late-night “home invasion,” Luna’s former roommate and police reports of the incident indicate there was a break-in while she was not home.
The extra scrutiny given to Luna’s background comes after Santos’ apparent lies and exaggerations were unnoticed until just before he took office. For example, Luna’s claim of being Jewish is very reminiscent of similar claims made by Santos; when his ethnic and religious background was called into question, he amazingly clarified that he had claimed to be “Jew-ish” rather than Jewish. And both Luna, who has emphasized her Mexican American heritage, and Brazilian American Santos have gained prominence as Republicans from minority groups who espouse far-right conservative views.
