Tougher Trump line toward Cuba delights hardliners on island

After this Cuba should just try to strengthen business ties with Europe and Canada as much as possible, I'm sure there are investors there willing to step into the void created by Trump

-"That involves respect for the world and a desire to be diplomatic, which Trump doesn't have the smarts, manner or true desire to do."

-"No, he doesn't have the desire or the manner for that, thank God for that!"

Then expect none in return, respect that is.

Plastic Monkey, you maybe waiting for some time on that question.

@bass

Obama's policy was rewarding the Castro family and the elite, they get everything and we the people and the citizens of Cuba are getting nothing out of it,

You've posted a number of times about how Cuba (as opposed to oil-rich Saudi Arabia) has nothing to offer American interests. Can you articulate how Trump's renewed tack toward isolating Cuba might economically benefit the United States -- "we the people", and not just Trump's electoral chances in 2020?

No, he doesn't have the desire or the manner for that, thank God for that!

And while we're at it, could you elaborate on how a president's lack of desire or manner for diplomacy will benefit anyone, including the United States? I'm sure it personally it gives you a chubby to have a president giving the middle finger to diplomacy, balance of powers, habeas corpus, international law, legal precedent, historical understanding, protocol, principle, respect for humanity, reason, literacy, thoughtful discourse, etc. What that signals to me is that you, and many of your fellow travelers, is that you prefer dictatorship. You simply don't go for the Cuban style of such dictatorship because it would deprive you personally. You, along with your choice for "strongman", have little interest in anything besides you own economic and emotional interests.

Soon this older generation will die out and relations with Cuba will open up again. The only thing keeping it going is a tiny number of former Cubans in Florida and a group of easily led older white guys in the US.

Bigotry is about intolerance, not strictly about race.

Yes, if it is for the WRONG reasons, but I fail to see that at all.

Race is associated with bigotry, but it isn't the true meaning. It's about intolerance and rigidity, instead of being open and flexible toward ideas, opinions and things different from oneself. 

We both agree on that.

Trump obviously is quite intolerant to many things, and cannot understand why some tolerance is needed to have diplomatic relations with another country.

But on this issue, he's totally correct and because he wants a better relationship with the Island of Cuba it's the reason why he's doing it, Obama's policy was rewarding the Castro family and the elite, they get everything and we the people and the citizens of Cuba are getting nothing out of it, that's why the Cuban community in Florida were instrumental in getting Trump to do the right thing and reverse another Obama disastrous policy executive blunder.

That involves respect for the world and a desire to be diplomatic, which Trump doesn't have the smarts, manner or true desire to do.

No, he doesn't have the desire or the manner for that, thank God for that!

Hey the first 50 years worked so well, let's give it more time.

well, it depends on what Raul wants? The ball is in his court.

Hey the first 50 years worked so well, let's give it more time.

Trump isn't about just hurting America, but the rest of the world to serve only his and the elites agendas and to hell with everyone else.

Although we all know Cuba could and should be better, what Trump did was totally to break any kind of bridge work that may have been laid by Obama for Cuba to work towards being a better nation and for a better world.

I wonder if it was due to the common sense of the more intelligent and moderate Republicans that Trump did not cut ties entirely with Cuba, just as the intelligent and more moderate Republicans had Trump not totally break off ties with Iran.

@bass4 funk: Bigotry is about intolerance, not strictly about race. Race is associated with bigotry, but it isn't the true meaning. It's about intolerance and rigidity, instead of being open and flexible toward ideas, opinions and things different from oneself.

Trump obviously is quite intolerant to many things, and cannot understand why some tolerance is needed to have diplomatic relations with another country. That involves respect for the world and a desire to be diplomatic, which Trump doesn't have the smarts, manner or true desire to do.

Is that the best retort from the Cuban dictators? Smh. Say goodbye to all that lucrative USD currency. Too bad for them. All they need to do is stop paying their people in Pesos, stop imprisoning political opponents, let the people decide and have free elections and all this would go away.

The real losers are the youth of Cuba, and world diplomacy takes another shot in the nuts, thanks to the unhinged bigotry of Trump and his ridiculous band of lackey idiots

Not bigotry, he never said, he hated Cubans, why does the left keep on talking about race?!! Anyway, it makes sense, the Cuban regime gets the money, tourism, access to supplies to medicine and other much-needed pharmaceuticals and there are no other concessions from them? No, the Cuban leaders have to play fair, they want this all to go away, the ball is in their court and it's not too much to ask them to allow their people to have the basic of all rights and good on Trump for taking that hardline position, I personally think he could have gone a bit further, but I am pleased nonetheless.

"President Trump's policy makes itself, once again, part of the old policy of pressure and strangulation of the Cuban people," founders Lenier Gonzalez and Roberto Veiga wrote Saturday. "It's a continuation of old dynamics of confrontation that are immoral, unjust and illegitimate."

Ruining progress is what Trump is about, whether it be horse and buggy approach to natural energy vs. coal, global warming, or the non diplomacy approach to international relations. The hard line politics of Cuba's pro government is fed Trump and American arrogance and show of non tolerance, and all Trump does is dismiss the future to go back in time. It give the Cuban pro government nationalists fodder to say, 'see, we told you so, Obama's programs to open up Cuba to the future is a hoax, embrace communism as it should be'.

The real losers are the youth of Cuba, and world diplomacy takes another shot in the nuts, thanks to the unhinged bigotry of Trump and his ridiculous band of lackey idiots.