It’s often disheartening to hear some of the despicable things the audience of ABC’s The View will applaud for.
Whoopi Goldberg and her compatriots talked about Cuban relations on Monday and parroted loony moral equivocations between human rights in America and Cuba made by Cuban officials. The audience, eager to shower their undying loyalty, erupted in applause as Whoopi repeated the Communist regime's talking points:
“Well on Friday the White House also announced that they are reversing the Obama administration's steps to normalize relations with Cuba because of their (laughing) human rights violations. Forget about the fact he has shaken the hands of some of the biggest despots out there. We won't point that out because that would be wrong of me. And because of their ties to hostile nations like North Korea. But Cuban officials said ‘really?’ Because the U.S. is in no condition to lecture us about human rights given the racial discrimination happening in America now.” (applause)
Such a moral thoroughfare is flatly absurd. Cuba has been under the thumb of Communist despots for decades, and their ongoing legacy of abusing human rights is rife with mass incarceration of dissidents, execution of political opponents, and internment of homosexuals. Whatever your perception of the domestic controversy over law enforcement abuses, such a statement is an obfuscation of Noam Chomsky degree.
There was also a detectable level of contempt for Trump voters by the progressive panelists, most evidently Joy Behar’s bit of nihilism: “Well, the other thing is that he didn't really do that much and he didn't undo what Obama did 100%, but did just enough to say to his base, you see, I undid what Obama did.”
That’s all Trump voters want, after all- to decimate the Obama legacy, just to be mean. They aren’t up to Joy Behar’s intellectual snuff, so they could never have legitimate policy disagreements on Cuban-American relations.
Sunny Hostin was next, prefacing her blatant comparison of Cuba and the United States by saying “'I’m not going to compare the United States to Cuba”:
“We know that Cuba has had a lot of problems but the point they made about the problems that we are having here with racial discrimination, they talked about police brutality, remember, just on Friday the officer that murdered Philando Castile was found not guilty. He shot that man in front of his fiance and her 4-year-old daughter and he had a license to carry and told the officer he was going to reach for his license to carry. That he was armed and he shot him anyway. And so Cuba has somewhat of a point when they talk about a lot of if problems that we have here in the United States.”
No. They have no point. The tragic and inexcusable Castile case, or any perception of systematic racial discrimination in American law enforcement (whose undergirding complaints are contested), gives the Cuban people no leverage to have a moral spar with America.
Whoopi then began interjecting strange comments that, with no nuance, literally accused Trump of the behavior of third world tyrants.
BILA: That’s fine. We have police brutality here. This show, let's try to take this show -- you see the block we just did on Donald Trump. Let's try to take this show over to Cuba and let’s criticize Raul Castro. That wouldn't happen.
BEHAR: You cannot.
HOSTIN: I said, I’m not trying to compare our country to Cuba--
WHOOPI: You can barely do it here.
What in the world is she talking about?
BILA: We do it every day.
WHOOPI: Let's talk about that. [ Applause ]
BILA:We do it every day.
WHOOPI: You know, we're not there yet. But the bottom line is -- go ahead, dear.
BILA: I'm just saying, he makes a lot of mistakes but on this issue he is setting conditions. He's saying release your political prisoners. Have free and fair elections, enable these private citizens.
WHOOPI: You first, Mr. T.
To be clear, Whoopi suggested that, in order for her to get on board with these charges, President Trump first ought to release political prisoners (that he isn’t holding), hold free and fair elections (which is outside of his purview), and enable private citizens to break the chains of oppressive communism (which don't exist). This is lunacy.
The whole segment was an inextricable insult to Cuban families who have made their way to America and know firsthand that any attempt to loop the U.S. in with the thuggish Cuban regime can only come from the mouth of someone who has never seen real tyranny.
Read the full June 19th transcript below:
11:05 AM ET
WHOOPI GOLDBERG: Well on Friday the White House also announced that they are reversing the Obama administration's steps to normalize relations with Cuba because of their (laughing) human rights violations. Forget about the fact he has shaken the hands of some of the biggest despots out there. We won't point that out because that would be wrong of me. And because of their ties to hostile nations like North Korea. But Cuban officials said really? Because the U.S. is in no condition to lecture us about human rights given the racial discrimination happening in America now. [Applause] So what do you -- you know, if it wasn't just him doing things, you know, he's just doing things. It's not because he has any feeling about Cuba. He is just doing things. Saying I'm going to be in Florida. I know what to say.
JOY BEHAR:Well the other thing is that he didn't really do that much and he didn't undo what Obama did 100% but did just enough to say to his base, you see, I undid what Obama did.
JED BILA: He did a lot.
BEHAR: No, he didn’t do--
BILA: Basically I support him 100% --
BEHAR: I looked at the list, and I was there last year--I was in Cuba last year. Nothing on this list has changed. There's still a United States embassy and you still have to go with a group which I did. Everything--
BILA: A lot of people would skirt that. There was a person to person travelability where people were skirting that fact that you weren’t supposed to go there for tourism and were going. What was happening is American citizens were going over there and funding these establishments thinking they're promoting democracy and promoting ideas that are good for the Cuban people.
BEHAR: Let me tell you something.
BILA:And all of that money -- hold on one second. Was going to the Cuban military, and that's what Trump is saying. He’s saying, these policies, what the Obama administration did and I'm not saying they weren't well intentioned, it did not help the Cuban people. [ Talking over one another ]
WHOOPI: The Cuban people have decisions to make. It's like the Irish and the English. At some point you're either going to have to say we're either going to stay here in this spot or we’re going to have to move on. Now, I think it's always better to try to make the situation work for everybody. So the idea that you're coming in and saying -- not you (points to Bila). That one is coming in and saying this isn't right and this isn't right, you know, you're not saying and here's what we can do to make it right. See, this is my biggest problem.
BILA: He is though.
SARA HAINES: I think it's also selective. We just watched him in Saudi Arabia with a traditional sword dance and they have an awful record on human rights.
[ Applause ]
SUNNY HOSTIN: I also -- I'm not going to compare the United States to Cuba. We know that Cuba has had a lot of problems but the point they made about the problems that we are having here with racial discrimination, they talked about police brutality, remember, just on Friday the officer that murdered Philando Castile was found not guilty. He shot that man in front of his fiance and her 4-year-old daughter and he had a license to carry and told the officer he was going to reach for his license to carry. That he was armed and he shot him anyway. And so Cuba has somewhat of a point when they talk about a lot of if problems that we have here in the United States.
BILA: And what about Cuba is harboring a convicted cop killer. [ Talking over one another ]
BEHAR: Isn't Guantanamo in Cuba?
HOSTIN: We have police brutality here. We do have that problem. The Philando Castile verdict just came out on Friday. That is a valid point, Jed.
BILA: That’s fine. We have police brutality here. This show, let's try to take this show -- you see the block we just did on Donald Trump. Let's try to take this show over to Cuba and let’s criticize Raul Castro. That would happen.
BEHAR: You cannot.
HOSTIN: I said, I’m not trying to compare our country to Cuba--
WHOOPI: You can barely do it here.
BILA: We do it every day.
WHOOPI: Let's talk about that. [ Applause ]
BILA:We do it every day.
WHOOPI: You know, we're not there yet. But the bottom line is -- go ahead, dear.
BILA: I'm just saying, he makes a lot of mistakes but on this issue he is setting conditions. He's saying release your political prisoners. Have free and fair elections, enable these private citizens.
WHOOPI: You first, Mr. T.
HAINES: But why here and not in Egypt and China, and all of these other places?
BILA: Because we have --
HAINES: He said diplomacy would never be stopped with human rights issues.
HOSTIN: How about he's in bed with the Russians and the Russians have one of the largest histories of human rights violations?
[Applause]
BILA: You can take him to task on those but that doesn't make it any less valuable here, what he’s doing right here.
BEHAR: The bottom line about Cuba, you can talk about Cuba -- did you ever go to Cuba Whoopi?
WHOOPI: Yes. A couple times.
BEHAR: Okay, we’re the only ones that have been to Cuba. Cuba-- The people are suffering to a large extent there. The food shortage. They have medical care, but, you know, a lot of doctors are fleeing if they can get out. The people of Cuba suffer more than the government.
BILA: That’s right.
BEHAR: It’s only this old guy Raul Castro he’ll probably be gone soon. There's got to be a big change in Cuba and the United States has to deal with that.
BILA: That’s right-- you’re right!
BEHAR: So even if the military gets a few bucks from us or these people -- what are they a threat to the United States?
BILA: Because the military is a threat to those people in that country. The military takes your money and my money when we go there and they use that to suppress people. To put political dissidents in jail.
HOSTIN: What good was the embargo? What was the benefit of the embargo?
BILA: President Obama went and watched a baseball game.
WHOOPI: Listen, you have not been over there, you don't know what's working over there, babe. We'll be right back.
