Joe Biden’s campaign seized on comments Democratic presidential rival Bernie Sanders made about Fidel Castro, suggesting that he does not admire the United States as much as he does brutal regimes such as the Soviet Union and comparing his remarks to President Trump’s praise of dictators.
“Make no mistake: Bernie Sanders’s comments on Fidel Castro are a part of a larger pattern throughout his life to embrace autocratic leaders and governments across the globe. He seems to have found more inspiration in the Soviets, Sandinistas, Chavistas, and Castro than in America,” senior Biden campaign adviser Cristobal Alex said in a statement Monday.
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Sanders said on Sunday that Cuba’s communist regime under Fidel Castro had good elements.
“We’re very opposed to the authoritarian nature of Cuba, but it’s unfair to say everything’s bad. When Castro came into office, you know what he did? He had a literacy program,” Sanders said in a 60 Minutes interview.
“His admiration for elements of Castro’s dictatorship or at least willingness to look past Cuba’s human rights violations is not just dangerous — it is deeply offensive to the many people in Florida, New Jersey, and across the country that have fled political persecution and sought refuge in the United States,” Alex said.
The Biden campaign compared Sanders’s praise for Castro to Trump’s praise of Russian President Vladamir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
“We already have one president who praises dictators and their mob-like tendencies. We don’t need another one,” Alex said. “Bernie’s comments indicate he either fails to understand the pain and suffering that Fidel Castro, Nicolas Maduro, and Daniel Ortega have caused to so many people, including Americans now living here — or worse, that his ideology blinds him to the realities of life in these countries.
Two Democratic House members from Florida and Democratic presidential candidate Michael Bloomberg have also criticized Sanders’s statement.
