A.G. Gancarski
Miami Mayor Francis Suarez had a national platform for his fledgling presidential campaign Tuesday, but it may be more remembered for a gaffe than anything else.
During an interview with radio host Hugh Hewitt, Suarez was holding forth about China, but froze up when asked about an ethnic minority oppressed by the communist regime in Beijing.
Hewitt asked Suarez, “Will you be talking about the Uyghurs in your campaign,” leading to an ignominious response.
“What the what? What’s a Uyghur,” Suarez responded.
Hewitt pivoted, but not before scolding Suarez, telling him that he’s “got to get smart on that.”
Nearly six hours after the interview, Suarez attempted damage control.
“Of course, I am well aware of the suffering of the Uyghurs in China. They are being enslaved because of their faith. China has a deplorable record on human rights and all people of faith suffer there. I didn’t recognize the pronunciation my friend Hugh Hewitt used. That’s on me.”
There is no shortage of material on the internet describing in great detail China’s oppression of the country’s Muslim minority.
The Council on Foreign Relations notes that anywhere from 800,000 to two million Uyghurs have been arbitrarily detained by the government since 2017. The United Nations has denounced China for crimes against humanity, while the U.S. position is that China’s treatment of the group is tantamount to genocide.
Human Rights Watch notes that China frames its attacks on the group as a “Strike Hard Campaign against Violent Terrorism,” with an explicit goal of erasure.
“Break their lineage, break their roots, break their connections, and break their origins. Completely shovel up the roots of ‘two-faced people,’ dig them out, and vow to fight these two-faced people until the end,” said one of the country’s “religious affairs” officials a few years back.
Suarez’s misunderstanding of a key plank of China’s internal oppression is arguably the greatest foreign policy mistake from a candidate since the 2016 Presidential campaign.
Back then, Libertarian nominee Gary Johnson went on MSNBC and discussed foreign policy in a shambolic interview, the low point of which was when he was asked about Aleppo, Syria.
“What is Aleppo?” Johnson responded, providing a gaffe on national television from which his campaign never recovered.
Johnson said he thought Aleppo was an “acronym” amid the media outcry over his mistake.
10 comments
Earl Pitts American
June 27, 2023 at 8:47 am
Good morning America,
I, Earl Pitts American, have not spent much time educating my beloved students in The Earl Pitts American’s Fan Club sponsered online school of Political Science on this late to the party pop up candidate Francis Suarez.
Many of my Poly-Sci students are confused about Suarez so as a public service I, Earl Pitts “Poly-Sci Professor” American will devote one or two lines of wisdom to this outlier candidate.
Suarez in the big picture is totally and compleatly irrelevant.
I, Earl Pitts “Poly-Sci Professor Emartiase” American have been reluctant to devote even 5 minutes of my valuable time to this candidate. But due to the large number of inquiries I received I will spend a few hot minutes on the topic as a public service:
Suarez is best thought of in the big political picture by not thinking of Suarez at all. He will generate a few headlines, but keep in mind, this “Uyghur” headline may also be Suarez’s “One Headline Hit Wonder” to borrow from the music industry just to make the point.
Anyway, America, here’s the one-sentance break it down-Mike Drop Suarez deserves:
*****Francis Suarez is the Miami/Dade version of “a Republican” 70% Dook 4 Brains Leftist, 20% Dook 4 Brains RINO, 5% idiot, and 5% Republican.*****
Boom Mike Drop
You are welcome America and Shout-Out to the Faculity, Staff, and Students of The Earl Pitts American School of Political Science,
Earl Pitts American
Karen HOA President
June 27, 2023 at 9:15 am
Thank you Earl,
Our Political Club here at The Villages will be interested in your info on Suarez. Many thinking all the Hispanic boarder crossers will mindlessly vote Democrat because of all the free stuff they are getting.
But lately the Homeowners are fighting with 1/2 thinking the millions of boarder crossers will mindlessy vote Suarez because he has an Hispanic name just like the boarder crossers.
Earl these oldesters here at The Villages are totally obsessed with this fued and have put up forbiden yard signes for Suarez and throwing eggs at each others homes like bad teenagers and drapeing toilet paper on the one and only HOA approved front yard tree in their fued.
Hopefully reading your wisdom will stop the fued and restore the peace and quiet the good neighbors here at The Villages have missed since Suarez announced his run at The White House.
Thanks Earl, gotta run Old Man Jenkins and his neighbor are fighting out on Jenkins front lawn again,
Karen
It's Complicated
June 27, 2023 at 8:59 am
Our Vice President of the United States can giggle through reading a script about foreign policy that sounds like a 3rd grade book report, and no one in the mainstream media says “boo”. She’s one heartbeat away from being the President.
Not defending Suarez’s gaff, but pointing out the double standard.
Joe
June 27, 2023 at 1:19 pm
It’s actually very simple: this sort of attempt at deflection is known as “whataboutism”
Silly Wabbit
June 27, 2023 at 1:58 pm
You kwazy.
Dont Say FLA
June 28, 2023 at 7:32 am
There’s no double standard here. Just go find a news story about the VP’s giggling, and comment there about the giggling. This is a story about Francis Suarez.
And now, rather than say “double standard,” I am going “completely off topic here, but..” What up with the Florida Man GOP candidates having girl names but yelling about anti-trans? Is it because of their girl names?
Don't Say FLA
June 27, 2023 at 11:47 am
GOP candidates have only heard of the minority groups that GOP types want to exterminy. So, ask Suarez about trans drag queens (and shhhh the blacks too but don’t say that in the open as much because GOP needs their votes )
MH/Duuuval
June 27, 2023 at 7:33 pm
The great Gancarski will remember the Freedonia kerfuffle made by Corinne Brown.
MAGAs are Wiggers
June 28, 2023 at 8:52 am
Suarez confusion is understandable. He heard “wigger,” assumed it was a word for MAGA voters, and took the question to be a trap of some sort where any answer he gave would be wielded against him as being anti-MAGA.
PeterH
June 28, 2023 at 10:54 am
Only the very best Florida Republican candidates get to ride on the 2024 Klown Bus!
Comments are closed.