Rubio pledges to resist Cuban, Chinese communist influence

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Wednesday told reporters that the United States would never become communist or allow communism to influence its politics and society. The Trump administration would resist communist efforts to sway the United States, particularly attempts spearheaded by Cuba’s regime, he said.

Rubio’s statements came days after the State Department released a report characterizing Cuba as the capital of 21st century communism. The Cuban regime supported and influenced many leftist politicians, including some in office today, and had ties to activist groups like Black Lives Matter and Code Pink, according to the report.

The report particularly sounded the alarm over the Democratic Socialists of America’s warm relationship with Cuba. At least six Democratic Party candidates endorsed by the DSA organization, including New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani, recently won elections. The organization seeks to end sanctions against Cuba, bring large corporations under government ownership, and abolish the presidency, Supreme Court, and Senate.

What about China? Rubio’s comments also came about a week after President Donald Trump claimed that China carried out years of large-scale fraud and interference in U.S. elections. When asked if Rubio raised the issue of election fraud with his Chinese counterpart during a recent conversation, Rubio said the two didn’t touch on that subject. He also suggested that Cuba was responsible for more interference in U.S. politics and foreign policy than China.

Dig deeper: Read Christina Grube’s report on Trump’s claims of Chinese election interference.