Thread: Trump Reveals Nobody Met Obama at Cuban Airport

‘Amateur hour’: Obama got stiffed by Castro after landing in Cuba, Trump not letting that one pass

Trump Reveals What Happened To Obama The Minute He Landed In Cuba –
Trump said Obama should have departed Cuba rather than endure the diplomatic disrespect. ‘What Are We Doing?! - BYE-BYE'

Jack Davis March 21, 2016 at 10:42am

The lack of respect Cuba showed to President Obama during the president’s arrival in Cuba illustrates the “amateur hour” level of the Obama presidency, Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump said Sunday.

When Obama arrived to Cuba on Sunday, Cuban leader Raul Castro, who had greeted Pope Francis and other word leaders in person, was absent.
“We are amateur hour folks,” Trump said while speaking at a Palm Beach, Fla., Republican event. “Amateur hour!”

“Folks, what are we doing? What are we doing?” said Trump, before launching into an explanation of international etiquette.

“Here’s how this whole thing is supposed to work. Number one, his people should call up, ‘Who’s going to be greeting the president?’ If they say ‘nobody’ you don’t go until somebody’s there because you don’t want to look like a fool. And the head of Cuba, who was there for the pope and was there for other dignitaries, but he wasn’t there for the President of the United States,” Trump said.

Trump said Obama should have departed Cuba rather than endure the diplomatic disrespect.

“He should have turned it around, should have said bye-bye … we’ll see you in a couple of years, maybe a couple of decades.”
Trump put the blame on Obama.

“And I’m not knocking Castro, if they can get away with this stuff, they’re making a great deal. Because they’re making a deal, it is fine to do it … but honestly, number one, it should never happen, but if it did happen, it’s called: Bye-bye. Get in your plane and go home, but (Obama) got in the car and drove, nobody to shake his hand.”

“Can you imagine if I were in that position and I landed and nobody was there?” Trump asked. “They would say, ‘Donald Trump must be incompetent to allow a thing like this to happen.'”



http://www.westernjournalism.com/wat...ent=2016-03-22

What Castro Just Said While Standing Feet From Obama Is Jaw Dropping

"That's why its removal will be of the essence."
Randy DeSoto March 21, 2016 at 12:13pm

Cuban President Raul Castro called on the United States to hand over the Guantanamo Bay Naval Base at the joint press conference in Havana with President Obama on Monday.

Castro said that Guantanamo Bay is being “illegally occupied,” though the territory was granted to the U.S. as part of Cuban-American Treaty of Relations in 1903. The United States won Cuba its independence during the Spanish-American War: the island was a colony of Spain prior to that time.

The U.S. and Cuba affirmed America’s right to the facility in another treaty signed in 1934, which granted the land as part of a perpetual lease.

In addition to returning Guantanamo Bay, Castro called on the United States to lift its trade embargo against his nation. “The blockade stands as the most important obstacle to our economic development and the well-being of the Cuban people. That’s why its removal will be of the essence,” the Cuban leader said, Politico reported.

Though Obama announced the normalization of diplomatic relations between the United States and its southern neighbor last year, only Congress has the authority to lift the trade embargo.

“I bring with me the greetings and the friendship of the American people,” Obama said to Castro, and proclaimed a “nuevo dia” between the two countries. “I’m actually going to go a little longer than you today, with your indulgence. We have a half-century of work to catch up on,” Obama said.

http://www.westernjournalism.com/bre...ent=2016-03-23




Casto and Obama agree to disagree on human rights, freedom

'There are profound differences between our countries that will not go away,' Castro says.
By Nick Gass

03/21/16 02:19 PM EDT
Updated 03/21/16 03:16 PM EDT

For the first time in nearly nine decades, the leaders of Cuba and the United States stood shoulder to shoulder in Havana on Monday. Although the nations are separated by just 90 miles, major political and economic obstacles remain, and President Barack Obama and Cuban President Raúl Castro hoped to bridge them. But after an hour of statements and a contentious question-and-answer session in which Castro claimed his country holds no political prisoners, they didn't quite get there.

Instead, Castro opened a joint news conference with Obama with a laundry list of why his country and the United States would never see eye to eye. And he ended it with complaints about taking one more question than was previously agreed.

Castro spoke before Obama for roughly 15 minutes, detailing the technocratic fruits of thawed diplomacy, namely the restoration of postal service and travel between the two countries, and urging the removal of the decades-old trade embargo between the two countries.

"This cooperation is beneficial not only for Cuba and the United States but also for our hemisphere at large," Castro said, referring also to cooperation in dealing with the spread of Zika virus in the region.

The Cuban president touted his country's progress on communications and medication, remarking that "much more could be done if the U.S. blockade were lifted." The steps forward to remove restrictions are "positive, but insufficient," Castro said.

"The blockade stands as the most important obstacle to our economic development and the well-being of the Cuban people. That's why its removal will be of the essence," he said.

Castro also urged the return of "illegally occupied" Guantanamo Bay, later taking shots at the United States' "political manipulation and double standards" with respect to human rights, as well as its lack of universal health care and other social programs for its citizens.

"There are profound differences between our countries that will not go away," Castro said, noting a litany of differences between the two countries on democracy, human rights, global stability and other issues. He also mentioned the 2013 journey of American swimmer Diana Nyad, who became the first person to swim from Cuba to Florida without a shark cage as a metaphor for normalizing relations.

Castro concluded his opening remarks, and Obama began by proclaiming it a "nuevo dia" for both countries. He also deviated briefly to pay tribute to Marine Staff Sgt. Louis F. Cardin of Temecula, California, who was killed in action last week while fighting in Iraq.

“I bring with me the greetings and the friendship of the American people,” Obama said, pointing to the largest congressional delegation in his presidency, remarking that the delegation realized that renewed relations are in the “interest of both nations.”

By Kristen East and POLITICO Staff

Obama also mentioned his gratitude at being joined by Cuban Americans, calling the visit, for them, "a time of new hope for the future" as well as one "filled with great emotion."

"I'm actually going to go a little longer than you today, with your indulgence. We have a half-century of work to catch up on," Obama said.

“Cuba is sovereign and rightly has great pride, and the future of Cuba will be decided by Cubans, not by anybody else," Obama said. But he vowed to do “as we do wherever we go around the world" and "speak out on behalf of universal human rights, including freedom of speech and assembly and religion."

Obama said he looked forward to "hearing from Cuban civil society leaders tomorrow."

"But as you heard, President Castro has also addressed what he views as shortcomings in the United States," he said, "and we welcome that constructive dialogue as well. Because we believe that when we share our deepest beliefs and ideas with an attitude of mutual respect, that we can both learn and make the lives of our people better."

Before a question-and-answer session, Obama wrapped his remarks by referring back to Castro's invocation of Nyad's journey, which "as you indicated, the road ahead will not be easy … fortunately, we don’t have to swim with sharks."

"If we stay on this course, we can deliver a brighter future for both the Cuban people and the American people," Obama said.

During the Q & A session, Castro visibly bristled when asked about political prisoners in Cuba, telling an American reporter that he would release all the political prisoners by the end of the day if provided "a list" of them.

For his part, Obama reiterated his "faith in people" in justifying the reopening of relations.

“The embargo’s gonna end. When, I can’t be entirely sure, but I believe it will end and the path we are on will continue beyond my administration," Obama said. "The reason is logic.”

When NBC News correspondent Andrea Mitchell tried to ask a second question of Castro, which apparently he had not agreed to, Obama left it up to the president. "Por favor," Mitchell said.

“She’s one of our most esteemed journalists in America, and I’m sure she’d appreciate just a short, brief answer," Obama said. Castro relented, and he responded to Mitchell's questions about human rights in the country.

"President Obama has already helped me out with the answer here, Andrea," Castro said, going on to tout his country's compliance with human rights relative to the rest of the world. "I think human rights issues should not be politicized. That is not correct. If that is the purpose, then we will stay the same way," he said.

But Castro still was not done chastising Mitchell and the other journalists present for asking him about political prisoners.

"It's not right to ask me about political prisoners in general," Castro said. "Please give me the name of the political prisoner, and with this, I think this is enough.

http://www.politico.com/story/2016/0...on-cuba-221051