White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki refused to speak out against communism in Cuba when pressed on Wednesday about the root causes of the ongoing crisis on the island nation.
“As the administration tries to figure out the ‘root causes’ of migration to the country, don’t we know that the reason people want to leave Cuba is because they don’t like communism?” a reporter asked Psaki. “Do you think people are leaving Cuba because they don’t like communism?”
“I think we’ve been pretty clear that we think people are leaving Cuba, or not — leaving Cuba, or protesting in the streets, as well, because they are opposed to the oppression, to the mismanagement of the government in the country,” she said. “And we certainly support their right to protest, we support their efforts to speak out against their treatment in Cuba.”
“I will say, separately, an important question is also what happens when people are seeking protection, or what happens when they are attempting to flee,” Psaki added. “In the past, as I noted, we’ve had several humanitarian programs … But certainly, we have said many times, and I will reiterate here, that we support not just the role of the protest, and peaceful protests, we stand with the Cuban people in their call for freedom from both the pandemic and from decades of repression and economic suffering to which they have been subjected by Cuba’s authoritarian regime.”
WATCH:
AMAZING: Despite the fact that Fox's Peter Doocy points out the fact that Cubans are exhausted and protesting in the streets over decade after decade of communist rule, Jen Psaki REFUSES to denounce the evils of communism and say that communism has and continues to be a disaster pic.twitter.com/1aDZi2cXHq
— Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) July 14, 2021
TRANSCRIPT:
REPORTER: As the administration tries to figure out the “root causes” of migration to the country, don’t we know that the reason people want to leave Cuba is because they don’t like communism?
JEN PSAKI: We–
REPORTER: And so as you’re trying to figure out, like, what the processes are for these people who want to leave Cuba, is —
PSAKI: Well, I’m not sure what your question is.
REPORTER: You guys have spent a lot of time —
PSAKI: Why are people leaving Cuba, or what is the process for them getting here? I can explain either of them, but you tell me.
REPORTER: Sure, yeah. Do you think people are leaving Cuba because they don’t like communism ?
PSAKI: I think we’ve been pretty clear that we think people are leaving Cuba, or not — leaving Cuba, or protesting in the streets, as well, because they are opposed to the oppression, to the mismanagement of the government in the country. And we certainly support their right to protest, we support their efforts to speak out against their treatment in Cuba. I will say, separately, an important question is also what happens when people are seeking protection, or what happens when they are attempting to flee. In the past, as I noted, we’ve had several humanitarian programs … But certainly, we have said many times, and I will reiterate here, that we support not just the role of the protest, and peaceful protests, we stand with the Cuban people in their call for freedom from both the pandemic and from decades of repression and economic suffering to which they have been subjected by Cuba’s authoritarian regime.