In a speech marked by Cold War rhetoric and Donald Trump mimicking a
Cuban accent, Trump re-imposed travel restrictions that President Obama
softened a year ago. Though Trump initially said he was going to
“cancel” Obama’s policy on Cuba, his speech was actually much more fiery
than the policy he delivered. Much of what Trump actually altered was
symbolic, with a greater impact on American companies than on Cuba. Much
of the significant changes were aimed at tourism, a target that has
some definite losers other than the Cuban people.
Trump will surely take credit for “fulfilling a campaign promise,” but his revisions leave much of Obama’s changes, including a US embassy in Havana, intact. He took just enough steps to claim to have taken action, and made just enough of a speech to attack Obama for “reaching out” to the Cuban regime.
Trump also laid claim to the coming departure of Raul Castro in 2018, though Castro announced those plans in 2013.
If Trump’s unique way of saying “China” is jarring, it’s nothing beside his tendency to slip into mock Cubano as he says the name of the country or other locations.
He returned to imitation Scarface at several points in the speech as
he played to the Miami crowd. Trump also couldn’t pass up the
opportunity to play that old favorite …The proposed changes in US-Cuba relations that President Donald Trump will unveil Friday in Miami could adversely impact hotel brands that directly compete with Trump's business empire, making it more difficult for them expand their foothold in Cuba.Surely a coincidence. The regulations would restrict tourists traveling outside of groups, person to person deals, and travel arranged through the state-owned GAESA agency.
The decision to prohibit business with GAESA to direct tourists to private companies and AirBnB is an example of Trump's ability to impact his business' competitors while in the White House. Trump's prohibition, in effect, puts other hotel companies on equal footing with his personal company -- not allowed to pursue future business in Cuba.Under these policies, it will simply be harder for tourists to visit Cuba.
Trump will surely take credit for “fulfilling a campaign promise,” but his revisions leave much of Obama’s changes, including a US embassy in Havana, intact. He took just enough steps to claim to have taken action, and made just enough of a speech to attack Obama for “reaching out” to the Cuban regime.
Trump also laid claim to the coming departure of Raul Castro in 2018, though Castro announced those plans in 2013.
If Trump’s unique way of saying “China” is jarring, it’s nothing beside his tendency to slip into mock Cubano as he says the name of the country or other locations.
"This room is packed. You know, it wasn't designed for this."Once he had the Cuba points out of the way, Trump treated the speech like a mini-rally, returning to the theme of how he won the election and how everyone else was wrong. He made at least two more mentions of the size of the crowd, dropped a mention of the “tremendous margin” that Florida gave him, and mentioned that “tomorrow” is the anniversary of when he began his presidential campaign. It’s actually today.
He also pointedly mentioned that it was just a couple of days past his birthday, prompting a singing of happy birthday from the crowd of Trump supporters.
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