Nixon Calls Cuba a Dictatorship in 'Months' After DSA Join

Angie Nixon, the Democratic nominee for the U.S. Senate in Florida, is under fire from both parties after telling CBS News she has never been to Cuba and relies on the accounts of people she has spoken with when describing the island's government.

During the interview, Nixon was asked directly if she considers Cuba a dictatorship. She responded that people have told her it is one and that she has to take their word for it because she has not visited the country.

Nixon joined the Democratic Socialists of America months before this interview aired. Her membership has drawn questions about her stance on the organization's views regarding Cuba, a country with a large and influential exile community in Florida.

Phil Ehr, the Democratic nominee in Florida's 28th Congressional District, criticized Nixon on social media. Ehr said he spent a week at early voting sites in South Florida and saw how frightened many Cuban American voters were.

Ehr stated that he cannot get past Nixon's answer. In a separate statement, he called Cuba a communist dictatorship and said there is nothing progressive about making excuses for such regimes. Ehr declared he would not stand behind Nixon or defend her remarks.

Elliott Rodriguez, the Democratic nominee in Florida's 27th Congressional District, also objected. Rodriguez wrote that while he and Nixon agree on many issues, the status of Cuba is not a matter of opinion to him. He pointed to political prisoners, repression, and deaths among those seeking freedom as evidence.

Republican criticism was equally sharp. Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., wrote on X that Nixon's answer reflects a problem in the Democratic Party. He compared her inability to define a dictatorship to other party members' struggles with basic definitions.

Rep. Byron Donalds, R-Fla., called Nixon's response the craziest thing he has ever heard. Donalds wrote that the Castro regime is obviously a dictatorship and expressed sadness at the state of the Democratic Party, which he said is consumed by socialism.

CBS News initially posted a video characterizing Nixon as declining to answer the question. She responded on X that the network failed in its editorial reporting and that claiming she declined to answer was false. CBS deleted the original post and reposted the interview with an editor's note acknowledging the error.

In an August interview with CBS Miami, Nixon was asked about the DSA's praise of Fidel Castro. She distanced herself from that position, stating she does not believe he should be praised and that she does not agree with every position taken by the organization.