Sen. John Kennedy called Cuba’s leaders “incompetent” on Fox News while prosecutors charged Raúl Castro over a 1996 downing of civilian planes. His remarks—branded “asshats” and compared to “three-wheeled shopping carts”—prompted swift social-media backlash th
Sen. John Kennedy didn’t just criticize Cuba’s leadership on Wednesday. He went for humiliation—then watched the internet flip it back on him.
Kennedy, a Republican from Louisiana, appeared on Fox News after federal prosecutors leveled charges against former Cuban President Raúl Castro over a 1996 downing of civilian planes. During the segment, he described Raúl Castro’s late brother, Fidel Castro, as “evil” but “pretty smart.”
Then Kennedy shifted to the island’s current leadership. He called them “asshats,” and he pressed that insult into a broader argument about what Cuba’s government does with power.
“They are like three-wheeled shopping carts,” Kennedy said.
“I mean they are incompetent,” he continued. “All they know how to do is oppress people. They take all their money and they give it to the military and the police and themselves, and to hell with the good people of Cuba.”
Kennedy framed that as a dead end for the country, adding that Cuba’s current rulers can’t see what’s coming. “And that’s not a model for success, and they’re gone and they just don’t know it yet,” he said, suggesting regime change was imminent.
As the Trump administration ramps up its efforts to unseat the communist government. Kennedy’s language landed in an unusually loaded spot. Critics on social media quickly pointed out the irony: they argued that Kennedy’s harsh description could just as easily be read as a swipe at the current U.S. leadership under Donald Trump’s White House.
John Kennedy Raúl Castro Fidel Castro Cuba regime change Trump administration Fox News social media backlash 1996 downing of civilian planes GOP