The White House avoided using the terms “socialism” or “communism” when asked why some Cubans are fleeing their country after historic protests over the regime’s handling of the struggling economy and the coronavirus pandemic.

White House press secretary Jen Psaki was adamant President Joe Biden and his administration has been “pretty clear” that they believed Cubans were leaving and demonstrating because of their opposition to the Cuban government’s “oppression” and “mismanagement” but declined to blame the ideologies that so enrage conservatives. Socialism, however, has been embraced by some prominent members of the president’s party, leaving him largely unable to denounce it.