Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders is standing by controversial comments he made in 1985 praising communist Cuba and its then-leader, Fidel Castro.
The comments received media coverage during the 2016 Democratic campaign but are in the spotlight again with Sanders’ recent success in Iowa, New Hampshire and Nevada. A self-described Democratic Socialist, he is considered the frontrunner for the Democratic nomination.
CBS’ 60 Minutes on Sunday played a clip of the ‘85 comments showing Sanders saying Castro “educated the kids, gave them health care, totally transformed the society.” At the time, Sanders was mayor of Burlington, Vt.
Bernie Sanders defends his 1980s comments about Fidel Castro in an interview on 60 Minutes. https://t.co/ySqvQKoiBU pic.twitter.com/lTwuXWp9sA
— 60 Minutes (@60Minutes) February 24, 2020
Anderson Cooper of 60 Minutes noted that Sanders, in the 1980s, also “had some positive things to say about the former Soviet Union and the Sandinistas in Nicaragua.” The Sandinistas were a socialist party backed by communist countries.
“We’re very opposed to the authoritarian nature of Cuba, but you know … it’s unfair to simply say everything is bad,” Sanders told Cooper. “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?”
Cooper…
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