Daily Wire co-founder and editor emeritus Ben Shapiro ripped self-proclaimed democratic socialist Sen. Bernie Sanders Monday for criticizing the U.S. while ignoring mass protests in Cuba against the communist government.
Sanders called for taxing “billionaires” on Sunday as Cuba was erupting in protests against the repressive communist regime, a government that Sanders praised last year for its “literacy program.”
“Here on Earth, in the richest country on the planet, half our people live paycheck to paycheck, people are struggling to feed themselves, struggling to see a doctor — but hey, the richest guys in the world are off in outer space!” Sanders said, apparently referencing English businessman Richard Branson’s recent space flight. “Yes. It’s time to tax the billionaires.”
Here on Earth, in the richest country on the planet, half our people live paycheck to paycheck, people are struggling to feed themselves, struggling to see a doctor — but hey, the richest guys in the world are off in outer space!
Yes. It's time to tax the billionaires.
— Bernie Sanders (@BernieSanders) July 11, 2021
Shapiro responded to his tweet on Monday morning, ripping the Democratic lawmaker for his silence on the Cuban protests.
“I can’t help but notice that you have yet to comment on the Cuban dissident movement. Perhaps you might spare a moment, when you’re not demagoguing capitalism from your lake house,” Shapiro said, referencing Sanders’ Vermont vacation home purchased in 2016 for $575,000.
I can't help but notice that you have yet to comment on the Cuban dissident movement. Perhaps you might spare a moment, when you're not demagoguing capitalism from your lake house. https://t.co/Nn4KsY7JzI
— Ben Shapiro (@benshapiro) July 12, 2021
Sanders has avoided harsh criticism of Cuba in past, blunting any negative comments with praise of its social programs, healthcare system, or other policies. Last year during his run for president, Sanders defended a speech he gave praising former Cuban dictator Fidel Castro at the University of Vermont in 1986, according to Fox News.
“We’re very, very opposed to the authoritarian nature of Cuba, but, you know, it’s unfair to simply say everything is bad,” Sanders said during an appearance on CBS’ “60 Minutes.” “When Fidel Castro came into office, you know what he did? He had a massive literacy program. Is that a bad thing? Even though Fidel Castro did it?”
During his 1986 speech, Sanders recalled his excitement at watching Castro take control of Cuba.
“I remember, for some reason or another, being very excited when Fidel Castro made the revolution in Cuba,” he said. “I was a kid … and it just seemed right and appropriate that poor people were rising up against rather ugly rich people.”
Sanders has long taken a modest, if not outright friendly, approach to socialist and communist dictators. Sanders has previously touted the former Soviet Union and defended Nicaragua’s Sandinista National Liberation Front, a Marxist political party.
Shapiro also bashed the Biden administration on Monday for its response to the Cuban protests. The White House released a statement from President Joe Biden addressing the protests Monday morning, supporting the Cubans “right of peaceful protest and the right to freely determine their own future.”
Shapiro responded: “Looking forward to seeing what consequences attach to the continuing, unabating, decades-long violation of the ‘fundamental and universal rights’ to ‘peaceful protest’ and to ‘freely determine their own future.’ Or if Biden just ships the dictator some vaccines and cash.”
Looking forward to seeing what consequences attach to the continuing, unabating, decades-long violation of the "fundamental and universal rights" to "peaceful protest" and to "freely determine their own future." Or if Biden just ships the dictator some vaccines and cash. https://t.co/oDgojVMDHR
— Ben Shapiro (@benshapiro) July 12, 2021