Florida Democrat: Sanders’s Castro comments ‘ill-informed & insulting’

Florida Rep. Stephanie Murphy (D) called out Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders’s (I-Vt.) comments about Cuban leader Fidel Castro as “insulting” to Floridians. 

“.@SenSanders comments on Fidel Castro are ill-informed & insulting to thousands of Floridians. Castro was a murderous dictator who oppressed his own people. His ‘literacy program’ wasn’t altruistic; it was a cynical effort to spread his dangerous philosophy & consolidate power,” Murphy tweeted Monday.

Whether the subject is Cuba, Venezuela, Nicaragua, Israel or other foreign policy challenges, @SenSanders has consistently taken positions that are wrong on the merits and will alienate many Florida voters now and in the general election if he is nominated. #FlaPol

— Stephanie Murphy (@SMurphyCongress) February 24, 2020

She was one of several Florida lawmakers, including multiple Democrats, to hit Sanders over his comments made in an interview with “60 Minutes” that aired Sunday. 

“We’re very opposed to the authoritarian nature of Cuba, but you know it’s unfair to simply say everything is bad,” Sanders said, adding that Castro “had a massive literacy program.” 

Murphy, who has endorsed Mike Bloomberg in the Democratic presidential race, also criticized Sanders over his foreign policy positions. 

“Whether the subject is Cuba, Venezuela, Nicaragua, Israel or other foreign policy challenges, @SenSanders has consistently taken positions that are wrong on the merits and will alienate many Florida voters now and in the general election if he is nominated,” she tweeted. 

Rep. Donna Shalala (D-Fla.) tweeted Sunday night that she hopes Sanders will speak to her constituents “before he decides to sing the praises of a murderous tyrant Like Fidel Castro.”

I’m hoping that in the future, Senator Sanders will take time to speak to some of my constituents before he decides to sing the praises of a murderous tyrant like Fidel Castro. https://t.co/Iwvmay9LOH pic.twitter.com/KT9sQ0pfkh

— Donna E. Shalala (@DonnaShalala) February 24, 2020