Before President Donald Trump hated Cuba, he loved it.
As with many of Trump’s policies, he was for it before he was against it, something that Republican once mocked, but now they’re embracing it.
Taking to Twitter Sunday, Trump claimed he was given the “Bay of Pigs Award” from a Cuban-American group in Florida. In fact, the group was called the Bay of Pigs Veterans Club, and they endorsed him. There was no award. CNN fact-checker daniel dale explained that Trump has a history of embellishing things into awards.
Sleepy Joe Biden has spent 47 years in politics being terrible to Hispanics. Now he is relying on Castro lover Bernie Sanders to help him out. That won’t work! Remember, Miami Cubans gave me the highly honored Bay of Pigs Award for all I have done for our great Cuban Population!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 13, 2020
For those confused by Trump’s claim he got the “highly honored Bay of Pigs Award”:
He got an endorsement in 2016 from the Bay of Pigs Veterans Association. It’s not an award. He has a long history of turning endorsements and other non-awards into awards.
— Daniel Dale (@ddale8) September 13, 2020
The Bay of Pigs invasion was also considered a botched CIA fiasco as the U.S. attempted to overthrow the Castro regime. Boasting about a “Bay of Pigs” award probably isn’t the best name, but, as one man said, it’s a strikingly accurate award to capture Trump’s failed leadership.
The Bay of Pigs incident was also a fiasco, botched by the CIA — a failed attempt at overthrowing the Castro regime. If I were a President, I certainly wouldn’t boast about a Bay of Pigs award.. although part of the name certainly fits Trump…
— Carl Juneau (@CarlJuneau1) September 13, 2020
The truth is that before Trump decided he was against Fidel Castro, he was desperate to curry favor with the Castros, overlooking the embargo. In fact, he twice violated the ban.
Donald Trump came to Miami in 2000 while pretending to run for President only to tell Bay of Pigs veterans her would take a hard line on Cuba **WHILE SECRETLY TRYING TO DO BUSINESS WITH FIDEL CASTRO IN VIOLATION OF U. S. SANCTIONS** but he’s beloved by @MiamiGOP. pic.twitter.com/lBiQmqObYa
— Grant Stern (@grantstern) September 13, 2020
As US/Cuba relations expert William M. LeoGrande recalled when Trump hired a consulting firm in 1998 to dig up some business there.
Seven Arrows Investment and Development Corp. then went to Cuba to meet with government officials and business leaders about a Trump Hotel and Casino Resort for Havana. Trump then claimed he didn’t know anything about it, but he’s also claimed he didn’t know who David Duke was, didn’t know people he was linked to and photographed with and that he had “nothing to do with” Stormy Daniels after signing a hush-money check to her.
“Because their business trip violated the embargo, Seven Arrows advised the Trump organization to disguise its payment to them as a charitable project, according to documents obtained by Newsweek,” said the report.
Former President Barack Obama had attempted to reopen the Cuban relationship, and Trump wanted to take advantage of it.
“Between 2012 and 2015, several Trump Organization executives responsible for developing golf properties traveled to Cuba repeatedly,” reported Businessweek magazine. The report went on to say that they claimed they were going “bird-watching” and golfing in Cuba.
“In the last 12 months, many major competitors have sought opportunities in Cuba,” said Eric Trump about the trip. “While we are not sure whether Cuba represents an opportunity for us, it is important for us to understand the dynamics of the markets that our competitors are exploring.”
Read the extensive report at The Conversation.
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