President Biden is "like a deer in the headlights when it comes to standing up to oppression," Sen. Lindsey Graham told Fox News’ "Hannity" while discussing the ongoing unrest in Cuba.
The South Carolina Republican said that in multiple international crises, "the Biden administration has been a poor defender of freedom and a weak opponent of oppression."
He stressed that in "various places in the world, the bad guys are getting stronger, nobody trusts us anymore. We're surrendering to radical Islam in Afghanistan. Our border is completely out of control. The Iranians are back in the game, nobody trusts us anymore to be a valuable ally. Biden could do something about Cuba if he chose to, but he's like a deer in the headlights."
Graham said that "Freedom needs you now, President Biden," emphasizing that "this is a moment for Joe Biden to stand up for freedom in the face of oppression and communism and thus far he’s AWOL."
While demonstrators took to the streets of Cuba on Sunday, Biden did not make a statement about the protests until Monday, saying "We stand with the Cuban people and their clarion call for freedom and relief from the tragic grip of the pandemic and from the decades of repression and economic suffering to which they have been subjected by Cuba’s authoritarian regime," the New York Post reported.
"The Cuban people are bravely asserting fundamental and universal rights," Biden continued. "Those rights, including the right of peaceful protest and the right to freely determine their own future, must be respected. The United States calls on the Cuban regime to hear their people and serve their needs at this vital moment rather than enriching themselves."
Graham said on Hannity that he would be introducing legislation to bolster sanctions against the regime in Cuba and urged the White House to consider cyberattacks.
"I would send a signal to the Cuban government that we’re not going to sit on the sidelines as you destroy people in our backyard, and we need to give voice to freedom," Graham said. "America is the symbol of freedom to most everybody in the world. To President Biden, where are you when the people of Cuba need you the most?"
The senator also slammed left-wing members of Congress, such as Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Sen. Bernie Sanders, who have either stayed silent about the demonstrations or, in Sanders’ case, urged the United States to end its embargo of Cuba.
"America’s with the people in Cuba," Graham said. "The Squad is not America. Bernie Sanders is a Democratic Socialist. I like him personally, but Castro has their tongue. They actually admire the Castro model in Cuba. The problem is that the Squad can’t speak up against Communism and socialism because that’s sort of where they want to take our country. This is yet another reason why [Republicans will] do well in 2022."
Brian Freeman ✉
Brian Freeman, a Newsmax writer based in Israel, has more than three decades writing and editing about culture and politics for newspapers, online and television.
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