On Tuesday, writing for the Miami Herald, Cuban-American columnist Fabiola Santiago, a refugee of the Castro regime, slammed President Donald Trump for courting Miami's conservative Cuban community with anti-socialism rhetoric — when he spent a good portion of his business career trying to make money off the communist state.
"[Trump] may peddle the hard line to his Republican Cuban-American supporters in Miami, but when he looks south of the city, he only sees dollar signs," wrote Santiago. "He promises that he won’t do business until Cuba is free of the Castro brothers’ regime — and prohibits Americans from traveling to the island — but Trump and his team have been chasing business opportunities in Cuba for the past decade."
"A new Miami Herald report has unearthed more proof of how seriously Trump tried to gain a foothold in Cuba, despite the U.S. embargo that’s in place," wrote Santiago. "Documents show that the president applied to register his Trump trademark in Cuba in 2008 so he could conduct business and invest in real estate. His plans included not only erecting a Trump Tower in Havana and putting a golf course in Varadero and other possible sites, but building casinos as well."
Cuban-American voters in Florida have always been among the most Republican-friendly subset of the Latino community, driven by local Republican leaders' years-long efforts to tie Democratic policy to socialism.
"If Fidel or Raúl Castro had let him develop Cuba, Trump would be praising them like he does Vladimir Putin and other nefarious dictators," wrote Santiago. "Playing both sides proves that Trump is a terrific huckster. And it sure puts another spin on what Trump said during an early fundraiser at his Doral resort in 2016. 'We’re tough on Cuba ‘cause they’re not doing the right thing for our people,' Trump said, and Cuban Americans applauded him. A Freudian slip, perhaps?"
"The Cuban-American vote helped him win Florida. It could help him in 2020, too," concluded Santiago. "Trump’s Cuban American supporters are that gullible and party faithful. They stand by their man even if he’s worked hard to golf with the enemy."
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