Nancy Pelosi Heckled At Miami Restaurant By Cuban-American Trump Supporters
Nancy Pelosi was heckled by a group of Cuban-American Trump supporters and shouted out of a Miami restaurant while helping to campaign for a Florida Democrat, the Miami Herald is reporting.
Pelosi has been helping Miami Democrat Donna Shalala, a former Clinton administration official, in her campaign for Congress. Unfortunately for Pelosi and Shalala, on Wednesday they and some colleagues found themselves surrounded by angry protesters, demanding answers about the Democrats’ willingness to work with Cuba.
Miami’s Cuban community is fiercely anti-Castro — and here “Castro” refers to both the Cuban dictator who died in 2016, and his brother Raul, who took up Fidel’s duties. The general Democratic policy towards Cuba is one of inclusiveness, as the Obama administration had partially overturned decades-old sanctions against Cuba. The general Republican attitude towards Cuba is one of continuing the Kennedy-era sanctions against the island nation.
As such, anti-Castro Cubans in Miami generally side with Republicans — and in this case, the Trump administration — when it comes to policies relating to their homeland.
It was in this context that Shalala, Pelosi, and some colleagues found themselves surrounded by Cuban-American pro-Trump protesters. Specifically, a group showed up at Shalala’s campaign headquarters, demanding to know why a politician would align herself with another politician — Barbara Lee — who had praised the Cuban dictator on his death in 2016.
I’m in Coral Gables working with @martindvassolo. @NancyPelosi and @RepBarbaraLee were scheduled to campaign for @DonnaShalala and @DebbieforFL here today. About 25 protesters are standing outside, holding signs supporting Republicans and accusing Democrats of being communists. pic.twitter.com/4aStMkFwnx
— jimena m tavel (@taveljimena) October 17, 2018
Shalala’s opponent, Maria Elvira Salazar, said that her constituents were right to demand answers.
“It is shameful that a candidate from District 27 would bring a supporter of the Castro regime to campaign with her. This is not only disrespectful for the Cuban exile, but also for the millions of Venezuelans and Nicaraguans, many who live in this district, who are suffering as a result of the Castro regime.”
For Pelosi, things only got worse when she tried to eat a meal at a Miami restaurant. Protesters surrounded the California Congresswoman and heckled her as she tried to enter through a side door.
“Look at this piece of s**t right here!” one protester said to Pelosi.
Several times since the beginning of Donald Trump’s administration, politicians have found themselves confronted by protesters when out in public.
For example, as the Inquisitr reported at the time, back in June Trump’s Homeland Security Director appointee Kirstjen Nielsen — and her companions — were accosted by protesters shouting “Shame!” while she attempted to eat at a Washington-area Mexican restaurant. At the time, the issue of immigrant children being separated from their guardians, being lodged in separate detention facilities was dominating the news.
