Left-wing CNN political commentator Ana Navarro ripped socialist Bernie Sanders following the Democrats’ debate on Tuesday over his continued praise of communist dictators, saying that there is “no f***ing bright side.”
Navarro’s remarks came after Sanders has repeatedly defended his praise of murderous Cuban communist dictator Fidel Castro this week by falsely claiming that he made the Cuban people literate – they already had a high literacy rate.
“I was born in Nicaragua. My parents live there. My husband was born in Cuba,” Navarro tweeted. “Castros & Ortega are corrupt, anti-American, murderous thugs. They jail, kill, torture, starve, beat, persecute political dissidents while enriching themselves. There is no f***ing bright side. Period.”
I was born in Nicaragua. My parents live there.
My husband was born in Cuba.
Castros & Ortega are corrupt, anti-American, murderous thugs. They jail, kill, torture, starve, beat, persecute political dissidents while enriching themselves.There is no fucking bright side.
Period.
— Ana Navarro-Cárdenas (@ananavarro) February 26, 2020
Sanders reignited controversy over his fringe views this week during an interview on CBS News’ “60 Minutes” with Anderson Cooper that aired on Sunday night.
“Back in the 1980s, Sanders had some positive things to say about the former Soviet Union and the Sandinistas in Nicaragua,” Cooper said while narrating during the segment. “Here he is explaining why the Cuban people didn’t rise up and help the U.S. overthrow Cuban leader Fidel Castro: ‘…he educated their kids, gave them health care, totally transformed the society, you know?’”
“We’re very opposed to the authoritarian nature of Cuba but you know, it’s unfair to simply say everything is bad,” Sanders responded. “You know? 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?”
“A lot of dissidents imprisoned in Cuba,” Cooper responded.
During the debate on Tuesday, Sanders again doubled down on his support for Castro, saying, “Of course you have a dictatorship in Cuba. What I said is what Barack Obama said in terms of Cuba, that Cuba made progress on education.”
The crowd booed.
Sanders yelled back, “Really?!”
The crowd booed even louder.
“Really? Literacy programs are bad?” Sanders fired back, again parroting debunked communist talking points.
Following the debate, Sanders again continued to defend his remarks during an interview with CBS News.
“On this issue of the potential political peril you and Democrats could suffer in Florida, Congresswoman Donna Shalala said come on down to Miami and meet with the people who have been affected by his regime,” CBS News’ Ed O’Keefe said. “Would you be willing to do that?”
“Cuba is a dictatorship, I’ve said that 8 million times,” Sanders said. “But that does not mean to say, as Obama pointed out, that even under a dictatorship, you can teach people to read and to write, that you can provide health care to all people.”
Sanders’ remarks were deemed so offensive that the Democratic Party and numerous politicians from the party condemned Sanders’ remarks.
The City of Miami, which has a large Cuban population, responded by announcing that it was holding an anti-communism concert.
“Sadly, even now, we see individuals defend and even promote communism and socialism,” Miami Mayor Francis Suarez said. “Just yesterday, presidential candidate Bernie Sanders glorified socialism in a 60 Minutes interview by defending elements of Castro’s regime.”
Suarez continued, “What Senator Sanders conveniently omitted from his colorful characterization of communist Cuba was Castro’s forceful and violent imposition of power, attacking human rights and freedom of speech, thereby minimizing the sacrifice of those who fought to break free from his suffocating hand.”