I woke up late on the morning of June 25, 2024 to hear some awesome news about the political Mad Dog PAC having to take down a billboard in Miami, Florida which compared Trump to Castro in Spanish. It seems that this billboard touched a real sore spot which is a truth that makes many, uncomfortable. After all, the GOP MAGA ex-president is a well-known open admirer of autocratic leaders like Russia’s President Vladimir Putin, Hungary’s Prime Minister Victor Orban, and Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and others.

Remember that it was the Soviet Union (Russia) that financially, morally and in every way possible supported the Cuban Revolution in 1959. Later, it was Castro’s alignment with the Soviet Union that allowed the Soviets to place nuclear weapons in Cuba, which resulted in the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962.

Yet, the GOP MAGA Cubans living in Miami have been reacting with such fury and rage to this billboard comparing Trump to Castro that the Mad Dog Pac has been convinced to take it down.

And so, what happened to the 1st Amendment, freedom of speech, being victims of the cancel culture as per GOP MAGAs?

Frankly, I’d love to see more billboards along the highways in Florida and in the swing states, depicting the GOP MAGA ex-president’s bromance with the Russian dictator, Vladimir Putin.

See YouTube presentation: Billboard comparing Trump to Fidel Castro sparks debate | REUTERS

Billboard comparing Trump to Fidel Castro taken down in Miami/ MSNBC Morning Joe

As per the June 21, 2024 Miami Herald report by Max Greenwood, Syra Ortiz Blanes, “No to dictators, no to Trump’: Billboard on Palmetto draws outrage, agreement in Miami:”

“A billboard that compared former President Donald Trump to the late Cuban leader Fidel Castro is coming down near the Palmetto Expressway.”

“Now, it’ll be rolling down the road alongside South Florida drivers instead.”

“The billboard, which went up on Monday 18th of June 2024), drew backlash from some members of Miami’s Cuban community for likening Trump to a dictator. Critics said the parallel was historically inaccurate and an affront to exiles.”

“Claude Taylor — the founder of Mad Dog PAC, the political-action committee behind the original billboard — told the Miami Herald the Castro message will be taken down and replaced on Saturday with a new image showing Trump in an orange jumpsuit, a judge’s gavel swinging down opposite to him, with the words “Convicted Felon” towering above the scene.”

“A roadside billboard in Miami that draws comparisons between Donald Trump and dictators like Fidel Castro is aiming to strike a chord with South Florida Hispanics. For some, it’s touching a nerve.”

“The billboard, which reads “No a los dictadores, no a Trump” – “No to dictators, no to Trump” – was posted Monday along the Palmetto Expressway near Northwest 67th Avenue (in Miami) by an anti-Trump outside group called Mad Dog PAC. It depicts Trump and the late Castro face-to-face on opposite sides of the sign.”

“On Radio Mambí, a fixture of South Florida’s conservative Cuban community, hosts and commentators took to the airwaves Tuesday morning to decry the billboard as “propaganda.” Another called it an “anti-Cuban provocation” against victims of Castro’s government. The station appeared to play bits of Trump’s salsa campaign jingle between conversation and callers.”

“Who can imagine Fidel Castro being the victim of a judicial offensive in his own country?” asked a host, referring to the high-profile NY case in which a state-court jury found Trump guilty of 34 felonies for falsifying business records related to “hush money” payments his lawyer made to an adult film actress.”

“The radio personalities rejected the parallels between the presumptive Republican nominee, who they said was a “North American capitalist who was born and raised in a democracy and who considers that the country is on the wrong path and wants to retake the presidency,” and the late Cuban leader, who they described as a “scoundrel, a murderer, thug, thief who seized power through lies in Cuba.”

“But the hosts also acknowledged that the billboard has caused mixed reactions among officials and community members and invited listeners to phone in their opinions. Several callers expressed anger and shock at the comparisons.”

“Claude Taylor, the founder of Mad Dog PAC, said he doesn’t necessarily expect President Biden to win Florida and its 30 electoral votes in the November elections. He said that the goal of the billboard is to grab people’s attention.”

“We do anti-Trump billboards, plain and simple,” Taylor told the Miami Herald. “We’re here to help defeat Trump. Period. We have a very narrow focus.”

“Taylor acknowledged that he’s not likely to “convince solidly pro-Trump Cuban Americans to vote” for Biden, but rather to mock Trump in his home state – and perhaps provide some comic relief for those voters “who don’t want to vote for a convicted felon.”

“The man is psychotic, deeply flawed and he wants to be a dictator,” Taylor said. “And it’s extremely ironic that people who suffered through decades of tyranny in Cuba would come here as refugees, as immigrants, and decades later embrace a wannabe dictator here.”

“Taylor declined to say how much Mad Dog PAC spent on the Miami billboard but said that it would remain up for at least the next two weeks.”

“Still, the billboard is drawing backlash, particularly from Republicans. Jaime Florez, the Hispanic communications director for the Republican National Committee, said the advertisement is in poor taste and seeks to exploit decades of trauma among those who fled Castro’s dictatorship.”

“Some Democrats argued, however, that the billboard acknowledges a simple truth about Trump, who has been accused of deploying authoritarian rhetoric and said last year that he would act like a dictator on his first day back in the White House if elected in November.”

“Juan Cuba, the president of the Miami-Dade Democratic Hispanic Caucus, said Mad Dog PAC’s billboard isn’t the most compelling message to promote Biden’s candidacy, but added that he thought the comparison between Trump and other authoritarian leaders was appropriate.”

“I think it’s also undeniable that Trump admires strongmen, like [Russian President] Vladimir Putin and [North Korean leader] Kim Jong Un,” Cuba said. “So, if the shoe fits.”