Democratic Florida gubernatorial nominee Charlie Crist is facing criticism over his pick to be the state’s lieutenant governor.
Crist chose teacher union boss Karla Hernandez-Mats to be his running mate.
However, it did not take long for a controversial old tweet she sent about Cuban dictator Fidel Castro to resurface. In 2016, she reacted to Castro’s death by tweeting, “A political figure dies at 90. Most in Miami rejoice, many in Cuba mourn [Fidel Castro].”
During an appearance on ABC’s “The View,” Crist faced a question about Hernandez-Mats from co-host Ana Navarro.
“There’s a ton of controversy around your pick as lieutenant governor,” Navarro began. “She’s a teacher union leader with no political experience. She’s become very controversial, already, very polarizing in south Florida. Because she’s made some comments that were somewhat Castro sympathizing.”
She added, “And here’s what I don’t get: You’ve been running in Florida since dinosaurs were roaming the earth. You know about the Castro issue. You know what that means in south Florida. You were friends with Cuban American colleagues.”
“Charlie, what were you thinking? What were you thinking? Did you vet her? I mean, explain this to me,” Navarro said.
Watch the video below:
Navarro, a Florida resident, GRILLS Crist on his pick for Lt. gov.
— Nicholas Fondacaro (@NickFondacaro) September 9, 2022
"She's become very controversial already, very polarizing in south Florida because" of tweets sympathizing with Castro. "Did you vet her?!"Crist sticks by his terrible pick.
Sunny tries to deflect. pic.twitter.com/wq14yCWQY3
Crist responded by calling his running mate “great.”
“Let me defend her. Because I want to, and she deserves it. She’s a strong teacher. She was a Special Ed teacher. And Ana, that’s what really hit my heart. She wasn’t just a teacher but a Special Ed teacher, and it showed me her heart and her compassion and care about young people who need extra help,” he said.
Crist went on to describe Hernandez-Mats as “a bit feisty not unlike you.”
Navarro interjected to say, “I know that Castro is a tyrant, has always been a tyrant and a dictator, who’s killed thousands of people, including there’s a lot of victims in south Florida who take this very personally.”
“She knows that too, with all due respect,” Crist said.
When asked how Hernandez-Mats will address the tweet, the Democrat said, “She already has.”
“She said that the day that he died, she was banging the pans in Little Havana celebrating that he was gone, that that monster was not on the planet anymore,” he added.
