Mike Huckabee Erupts, Calls Out Bernie Sanders' Hypocrisy: 'That, My Friend, Is Today's Democrat Party.'
Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee lashed out Tuesday at Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders and the Democratic Party over the double standard Sanders and Democrats use when viewing the world.
And he used the current crisis in Venezuela to make his point.
“Bernie Sanders has no trouble calling President Trump an authoritarian, but still can’t bring himself to call Venezuela’s Nicolas Maduro a ‘dictator,’ even as he’s blocking humanitarian aid from getting to starving people. That my friend is today’s Democrat party,” Huckabee tweeted.
Bernie Sanders has no trouble calling President Trump an authoritarian, but still can’t bring himself to call Venezuela’s Nicolas Maduro a “dictator,” even as he’s blocking humanitarian aid from getting to starving people. That my friend is today’s Democrat party.
— Gov. Mike Huckabee (@GovMikeHuckabee) February 26, 2019
Maduro’s rule in Venezuela is being challenged by self-declared interim president Juan Guaido, the head of the nation’s legislature, who has called for Maduro to step aside. The United States recognizes Guaido as the rightful head of the nation, as do most of Venezuela’s South American neighbors.
However, Maduro still controls the machinery of government and has ordered the military to keep humanitarian aid from entering the country.
Recently, soldiers clashed with civilians trying to get aid into the country, leaving at least two civilians dead.
Maduro governs the nation as a dictator who pursued socialist policies. He took over the country in 2013, after the death of previous socialist leader Hugo Chavez.
However, when asked about that at a recent town hall on CNN, Sanders soft-pedaled any criticism of Maduro and went after President Donald Trump instead.
CNN’S @wolfblitzer : “Senator, why have you stopped short of calling maduro of Venezuela a dictator?”
Bernie Sanders’ Answer: Awkward silence .. RANDOM RANT — UHHH TRUMP IS BAD … ignored the QUESTION. #BernieTownHall #VenezuelaLibre
WATCH ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/hltUcC3TEd
— Stephanie Hamill (@STEPHMHAMILL) February 26, 2019
“Why have you stopped short of calling Maduro of Venezuela a dictator?” CNN’s Wolf Blitzer asked.
“I think it’s fair to say that the last election was undemocratic, but there are still democratic operations taking place in that country. The point is, what I’m calling for right now is internationally supervised fair elections,” Sanders responded.
Sanders then shifted the focus of his answer.
“And, I do find it interesting that Trump is very concerned about what goes on in Venezuela, but what about the last election that took place in Saudi Arabia?
“Oh, there wasn’t any election in Saudi Arabia. Oh, women are treated as third-class citizens. So, I find it interesting that Trump is kind of selective as to where he is concerned about democracy.
“My record is to be concerned about democracy all over the world, so we’ve got to do everything we can but at the end of the day, it’s gonna be the people of Venezuela who determine the future of their country, not the United States of America.”
Sanders then said Trump’s national declaration of an emergency at the Southern Border was “authoritarian.”
After Venezuela hit an economic meltdown and Guaido emerged to lead the opposition, the Trump administration has put itself squarely in opposition to Maduro, who said recently that Trump is the victim of bad advice.
“I fear the people that are around him,” Maduro said in an interview with ABC News published Tuesday.
Specifically, he cited National Security Advisor John Bolton, Elliott Abrams, the Trump adminsitration’s special envoy on Venezuela, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Vice President Mike Pence.
“I think these people surrounding President Trump and advising him on Venezuelan policies are bad, and I think that at one point, President Trump will have to say ‘stop, stop, we have to see what happens with Venezuela,’ and change his politics,” he said.
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