Did Bernie Sanders ever apologize for supporting Fidel Castro?

[Jose Garcia]

A lot of voters in South Florida would like to know.

[evertonfc]

1. Sanders

will get beat easily in Florida. The older voters and older immigrants from South and Central America will run at the hint of or comparison to socialism. It's what scares party operatives the worst. Ads will run in loop with old Bernie quotes about bread lines and socialism. Bernie, unfairly, has been defined as a socialist. America will not elect him. Sad but true.

[calguy]

5. Sad but true

but the fact he has defined himSELF a socialists and has been proud of it for many years. He can't have it both ways. Time to vet this dude before it's too late. He's not even a member of our party.

[awesomerwb1]

8. Unfairly???

He calls himself a socialist!

[NurseJackie]

16. Yes he does...

[Cha]

2. Dunno

[calguy]

3. Ouch!!!

He'll answer that one just as soon as he releases his medical records and trump releases his taxes, OK?

[MineralMan]

4. Say what? Sanders supported Fidel Castro?

Say it ain't so, Jose. Say it ain't so...

[tritsofme]

6. It's not just Castro, he's had a soft spot for all sorts of Latin American dictators.

And it would be a huge problem in a general election.

https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2019/02/bernie-sanders-maduro-castro-latin-america-socialism.html

[highplainsdem]

7. Ever wonder what someone with a soft spot for dictators might do if he had a LOT of power?

[tritsofme]

10. I don't have to wonder very hard...

[MineralMan]

11. Don't have to wonder any more...

Now, we have Donald J. Trump.

[krissey]

14. And Russia.

[MineralMan]

9. Boy! I sure hope Trump doesn't know about this.

It's something he might use in his campaign. You think?

[scipan]

12. Where is the evidence he "supported" Castro?

I found one reporter claiming that, and Bernie pointing out good things about the regieme like free health care, but Bernie clearly said Castro gov wasn't democratic.

Where did you get this from?

[scipan]

15. Links showing the above post:

Way back in—what was it?—1961, they invaded Cuba," Sanders said in the 1985 interview, "and everybody was totally convinced that Castro was the worst guy in the world and all of the Cuban people were going to rise up in rebellion against Fidel Castro. They forgot that he educated their kids, gave their kids health care, totally transformed the society," he pointed out.



Sanders, a self-described democratic socialist, also took aim at Ronald Reagan, who was serving as president at the time. "Not that Fidel Castro and Cuba are perfect. They certainly are not," Sanders asserted. "But just because Ronald Reagan dislikes these people doesn't mean that people in their own nations feel the same way."..snip...

Sanders gave the interview after returning from Nicaragua, at the invitation of the ruling Sandinista government. The politician also praised the leftist Sandinistas, calling Nicaraguan leader Daniel Ortega "impressive."

President Donald Trump and Republicans have already begun harshly criticizing Sanders for his socialist policies. A campaign email sent out by Trump's re-election team slams the Vermont senator for running on a platform of "full-blown socialism."

"A new wave of radical socialist Democrats is coming," the email warns. "America will never be a socialist country."

But the social policies promoted by Sanders campaign, including increasing taxes on the wealthy, providing free college education, Medicare for all and combating climate change are actually widely popular with the American people, according to several polls.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.newsweek.com/bernie-sanders-2020-cuba-castro-reagan-resurfaced-interview-1339527%3famp=1

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2016/11/27/sanders_on_cuba_of_course_their_economy_is_terrible_but_they_have_good_health_care.html&ved=2ahUKEwjF-4aZssrnAhUKlXIEHaafAdUQwqsBMAJ6BAgJEAk&usg=AOvVaw2_ubA7u4q4xyumVeZqBJl5

[Tom Rinaldo]

13. But that isn't what he did

Some may be critical of what he actually did say, but Sanders did not "support Fidel Castro."

This is actually from a right wing source so I will not link to it, but clearly it was in their interest to make Bernie look as bad as possible so they did not go soft on him:

"Sen. Bernie Sanders, the socialist from Vermont who is now challenging Hillary Clinton for the 2016 Democratic nomination, praised the Castro regime and Nicaragua's Sandinista government upon returning from a trip to South America in 1985..."

"In 1959 [...] everybody was totally convinced that Castro was the worst guy in the world and all of the Cuban people were going to rise up in rebellion against Fidel Castro," said Sanders. "They forgot that he educated their kids, gave their kids healthcare, totally transformed the society."

"So they expected this tremendous uprising in Cuba," Sanders continued, but "it never came. And if they are expecting a tremendous uprising in Nicaragua, they are very, very, very mistaken."

Sanders insisted that he did not mean to suggest "that Fidel Castro and Cuba are perfect; they certainly are not."

In 1985 Sanders was opposing the Reagan administration policies that led to the Iran/Contra scandal. Nicaragua is messed up and has been for many many decades, but the contra rebellion that Reagan was funding did not succeed in organizing any mass uprising. It sure led to many deaths though.

In a 2016 presidential debate Sanders had this to say about that 1985 interview:

“What that was about was saying that the United States was wrong to try to invade Cuba, that the United States was wrong trying to support people to overthrow the Nicaraguan government, that the United States was wrong trying to overthrow in 1954 the democratically elected government of Guatemala," Sanders said.

[scipan]

18. Jinx!

You stated it better than me.

However I did find a reporter from MSNBC claiming it in a town hall so it's not just a right wing talking point anymore.
https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://m.youtube.com/watch%3Fv%3DvMSnnYBnZww&ved=2ahUKEwjF-4aZssrnAhUKlXIEHaafAdUQwqsBMAR6BAgJEBM&usg=AOvVaw3qEqLyF9uqjyUVyvts8t0z&cshid=1581456640989

[Nanjeanne]

22. Oh don't like facts get in the way of a good Bernie Bash!!!!!!!!

[David__77]

17. I don't know. As an aside, he sure was right to oppose aid to the contras.

...

[still_one]

19. Nope

[Gothmog]

20. No-From AMJOY

Link to tweet

[betsuni]

21. K&R