The Obama administration is sending higher ranking U.S. officials to Fidel Castro’s funeral than it sent to Margaret Thatcher’s, but the White House has an explanation. It’s not apples-to-apples, they argue.
When Thatcher passed in 2013, the Obama White House appointed former Secretaries of State George Shultz and Jim Baker, both Republicans, to head the U.S. delegation.
Baker and Shultz had both served under Ronald Reagan, and they both worked closely with Thatcher’s administration.
The official delegation included the charge d’affaires at the U.S. Embassy in London Barbara Stephens and former U.S. ambassador to the U.K. Louis Susman.
The Republican-controlled House also sent a delegation of its own, which included Reps. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., and George Holding, R-N.C., and former Rep. Michele Bachmann, R-Minn.
However, the U.S. delegation to Thatcher’s funeral conspicuously lacked several key contingents, including currently elected Democratic lawmakers, major Cabinet members and, of course, the president himself.
For Castro, things will be slightly different.
The Obama administration is sending Deputy National Security Adviser Ben Rhodes and Ambassador Jeffrey DeLaurentis, America’s chief diplomat in Havana, to represent the U.S. at the long-serving communist dictator’s funeral.
So yes, the White House is sending higher-ranking officials than they sent to Thatcher’s funeral. However, the Obama administration is stressing the two are not being sent as part of an official presidential delegation.
“The president has decided not to send a presidential delegation to attend the memorial service today,” White House press secretary Josh Earnest told reporters this week. “Those of you who have been following this story closely over the last couple of years know that Mr. Rhodes has played a leading role in crafting the normalization policy that President Obama announced about two years ago. He has been the principal interlocutor with the Cuban government from the White House in crafting this policy and implementing it successfully.”
The careful distinction between official and unofficial U.S. representation aside, there’s another key difference between the Castro and Thatcher’s funerals, and it’s one that gives the Obama administration’s handling of both events a little bit of wiggle room: The Cuban dictator’s send-off is an official state event, whereas Thatcher’s funeral was a private affair.
Buckingham Palace and Downing Street stressed in 2013 that Thatcher was not being given a state funeral, per her specific request.
Castro, on the other hand, is being given an official state funeral, and it is therefore being handled slightly different by the White House.
It’s also worth noting that as far as U.S. delegations to the funerals of world leaders are concerned, the Obama administration response to Castro’s funeral is not even close to how it has honored past world leaders.
For former Israeli Prime Minister Shimon Peres’ funeral, for example, Obama traveled with a 32-member delegation, which included 19 members of Congress, six senior White House officials, five current and former diplomats and former President Bill Clinton.
For what it’s worth, the absence of a high-profile delegation to the former British prime minister’s funeral was certainly seen as a snub at the time by many in the U.S. and U.K. media.
“[Downing] Street is most angered by rejections from Obama, First Lady Michelle and Vice-President Joe Biden. And none of the four surviving ex-US leaders — Jimmy Carter, George Bush Sr, Bill Clinton and George Bush Jr. — is coming either,” The Sun reported.
The report added, “The response contrasts with glowing US tributes on the day Lady Thatcher died. A No 10 source said last night: ‘We are a little surprised by the White House’s reaction as we were expecting a high-profile attendance.'”
The White House defended its decision to send a decidedly low-key delegation to Thatcher’s funeral, arguing that those who saw it as a “snub” got it all wrong.
“The two Secretaries of State who headed the U.S. delegation are testimony to Baroness Thatcher’s global stature and reputation and reflected the longstanding strength of the transatlantic relationship,” National Security Council spokeswoman Caitlin Hayden told Politico. “As President Obama … noted last year, the bond between our countries is unique and essential – we count on each other, and the world counts on our alliance.”
Then-British Prime Minister David Cameron’s office also pushed back against the “snub” characterization.
“Absolutely not and that the seniority of the America dignitaries attending was reflective of her global stature,” Cameron’s spokesman, Jean-Christophe Gray, said at the time. “He welcomed the fact that two former Secretaries of State with whom Lady Thatcher had worked very closely were attending, saying it was testimony to the esteem in which she was held.”
Current and former world leaders who are expected to attend Castro’s funeral include former Spanish King Juan Carlos I, Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe, Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras, South African President Jacob Zuma and Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro.
Obama and Russian President Vladimir Putin both declined invitations. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, whose glowing eulogy for Castro drew sharp criticism worldwide last week, is also skipping the long-reigning dictator’s funeral.
