Whoopi Goes Off on Bernie’s Castro Remarks: ‘There’s Nothing Groovy About a Dictatorship!’
The women of The View continued to rail against Democratic presidential frontrunner Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) on Tuesday, this time taking issue with the democratic socialist senator doubling down on his praise of Cuban dictator Fidel Castro’s literacy program.
“There is nothing groovy about a dictatorship,” host Whoopi Goldberg exclaimed at one point.
Sanders has come under fire, including by many Democrats, for telling 60 Minutes that it was “unfair” to say “everything is bad” with Castro’s regime. Noting that he was opposed to the “authoritarian nature” of Castro’s government, Sanders did commend the communist leader for launching a “massive literacy program.”
“Is that a bad thing?” Sanders wondered aloud. “Even though Fidel Castro did it?”
After Sanders defended his comments in a Monday night CNN Town Hall— adding that “teaching people to read and write is a good thing”—the hosts of the ABC talk show all took turns blasting the Vermont lawmaker over his remarks.
Liberal co-host Joy Behar expressed exasperation over Sanders’ position, claiming he should have also said that Cuba is “an oppressive dictatorship” where the “quality of life is awful.” (For his part, Sanders did say that he condemned the regime’s imprisoning of political dissidents and that he’d been “extremely consistent and critical of all authoritarian regimes all over the world.”)
‘Senator Sanders, I’m Sorry’: Chris Matthews Apologizes for Nazi Analogy
Conservative colleague Meghan McCain followed up by saying “this will not play well in Florida” if Sanders becomes the Democratic nominee, something co-host Sunny Hostin agreed with.
“That is not going to do well in Florida, a swing state for that Latino contingent,” Hostin added. “They are not going to forgive him for this position.”
“It’s a dictatorship,” Goldberg shouted in response. “There is nothing groovy about a dictatorship!”
McCain, meanwhile, insisted that Sanders offering praise of Castro or Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro is “no different than saying Hitler was a good orator.”
“It’s that insane,” she shouted. “It’s that bat-blank insane!”
After Behar added a Mussolini reference for good measure, Goldberg brought it back around to comparing Sanders’ remarks to one of President Donald Trump’s most infamous moments.
“There’s no way around that,” the Oscar-winning actress stated. “This is as bad as you-know-who saying there were good people on both sides. It’s the same thing.”
Get our top stories in your inbox every day. Sign up now!
Daily Beast Membership: Beast Inside goes deeper on the stories that matter to you. Learn more.
