‘Did You Vet Her?’: The View Host Grills Charlie Crist on Lt. Gov. Pick After ‘Castro-Sympathizing’ Tweet

LOS ANGELES (FLV) – Ana Navarro grilled Democrat candidate for governor Charlie Crist on The View Friday for his running mate’s “somewhat of a Castro-sympathizing” comment.

Crist picked teachers union leader Karla Hernandez-Mats to run for Lt. Governor against Gov. Ron DeSantis. Hernandez-Mats has been criticized for a 2016 tweet where she said “many in Cuba mourn #FidelCastro.”

“A political figure dies at 90. Most in Miami rejoice, many in Cuba mourn #FidelCastro,” the now-deleted Tweet said.

Navarro questioned whether Crist vetted Hernandez-Mats before choosing the running mate, explaining how Crist has been a politician long enough to understand how people in South Florida feel about Fidel Castro.

“She’s made some comments that were somewhat of a Castro-sympathizing,” Navarro said. “What were you thinking? Did you vet her?”

In response, Crist praised Hernandez-Mats for her career as a special education teacher until Navarro jumped into the conversation to point out how Castro was a tyrant. Crist replied with Hernandez-Mats “knows that too.”

NAVARRO: “There’s a ton of controversy around your pick as lieutenant governor. It’s the first big decision you make. Once you become the nominee. Her name is Karla Hernandez-Mats. 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 tweets. She’s made some comments that were somewhat of a Castro sympathizing.

“And here’s what I don’t get. You’ve been running in Florida since dinosaurs were roaming the earth. You will know what the Castro issue. You know what that means in South Florida. You were friends with people with Cuban American colleagues in the state senate and Congress? Charlie, what were you thinking? What were you thinking? Did you vet her? I mean, explained this to me because no entiendo.

CRIST: “I think she’s great. I really do. And 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 help. Need extra help. And that really sold me on the deal. And she’s got a very charismatic personality. She’s a bit feisty, not unlike you in some ways.”

NAVARRO: “I know that Castro is a tyrant has always been a tyrant and a dictator.”

CRIST: “She knows that too.”

NAVARRO: “Thousands of people including, you know there’s a lot of victims in South Florida who take this very…

CRIST: “She knows that too, with all due respect.”

NAVARRO: “So how’s she going to address this though?”

CRIST: “She already has?”

NAVARRO: “And said what?”

CRIST: “She said that, you know, the day that he died, she was banging the pans in Little Havana you know, celebrating that he was gone that that monster was not on the planet anymore.”

The View Interview

Hernandez-Mats deleted the tweet on Sep. 5 earlier in the day, more than a week after initial reports. Just hours later, she compared Gov. Ron DeSantis to Castro in a tweet that afternoon: “Like Castro, Ron is moving our state closer to authoritarian rule. Charlie and I will stop this wannabe dictator.”

On Sept. 6, Hernandez-Mats addressed the now-deleted controversial tweet, arguing she was referring to Cubans being “forced to mourn the death of a tyrant.”

“I proudly celebrated Fidel’s death, banging on pots and pans in the streets of Hialeah with my neighbors,” she said.

The Associated Press reports that Cuba observed nine days of mourning for Fidel Castro.

Gov. Ron DeSantis bashed Hernandez-Mats’ comments Tuesday and called it an “insult” to people in the community.

DeSantis Bashes Karla Hernandez-Mats Tweet About Cubans Mourning Fidel Castro’s Death: ‘That’s an Insult’

“When you’re putting out tweets saying about Castro’s death, he’s just a political leader that people in Cuba are mourning, that’s a disgrace,” DeSantis said. “That’s an insult to the people in this community.”