President Donald Trump on Tuesday suggested that the United States was moving toward reengaging with the Cuban government after earlier stating the regime there was on its last legs, adding that Secretary of State Marco Rubio—who is of Cuban descent—would take the lead in the effort.
“With respect to Cuba, you said that Cuba wants to make a deal,” a reporter said to Trump.
“Yes,” the president responded.
“What would the United States get in return for that? And why should Americans trust Marco Rubio to negotiate it?” the reporter asked.
“Well, Marco Rubio is doing a great job. I think he‘s going to go down as the greatest Secretary of State in history. Look at what we‘ve done as a presidency. Look at what we‘ve done as an administration. They trust Marco and so do the American people… He‘s been successful no matter where he‘s been,” Trump said.
“He also speaks the language, which is always nice and always helpful. But he‘s dealing, and it may be a friendly takeover. It may not be a friendly takeover. It wouldn‘t matter because they‘re really, they’re down to, as they say, fumes. They have no energy, they have no money,” Trump went on. “They‘re in deep trouble on a humanitarian basis. And we don‘t want to see that.
“But they were very, very bad to a lot of people, as you know, and a lot of people living are, the Cuban American vote, which I got at record levels, very important. Those people are very important to me. I know what they went through. They went through hell,” Trump continued. “Some of them have gone on to be some of the most successful people in the country. Cuban American business people, some of them are, like, the most successful in the country and a lot of them are friends of mine because I‘ve been fighting this battle with them for a long time.
“The Castro regime was brutal, but they lived off Venezuela. Now they don‘t live off — Venezuela sends them no energy, no fuel, no oil, no money, no nothing. They lived without Venezuela, they couldn‘t have made it. And we cut them off from everything else. So, yeah, they‘re going to make either a deal or we‘ll do it just as easy anyway,” he added.
WATCH:
Trump declared Saturday that Cuba is “in its last moments of life” as he spoke to Latin American leaders gathered at his golf club in Doral, Florida. He made the remarks during an event the White House called the Shield of the Americas summit.
Trump turned to the topic of Cuba after discussing Venezuela, where U.S. forces conducted military strikes earlier this year that led to the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, according to reports.
“As we achieve a historic transformation in Venezuela, we’re also looking forward to the great change that will soon be coming to Cuba,” Trump said.
Trump said the communist-run island nation is “very much at the end of the line.” He said the country has “no money,” “no oil,” “a bad philosophy,” and a “bad regime.”
The president previously floated the idea of a “friendly takeover” of Cuba during remarks last month. He also said earlier this week at the White House that Cuba could soon become the next major focus for Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
Trump told the gathering Saturday that Cuba is already “negotiating” with Rubio. He said he believes a deal between the United States and Cuba could come together quickly. “Cuba’s in its last moments of life, as it was,” Trump said. “It’ll have a great new life, but it’s in its last moments of life the way it is.”