Watch a Sanders surrogate call out Fox News anchors for ridiculous questions and lying
Amer Zahr: “You guys have to stop lying on the air”
Published
Citation From the February 26, 2020, edition of Fox News' America's Newsroom
ED HENRY (ANCHOR): Let's end in the last minute on this, not just the plans that are socialist in nature, but the fact that Bernie Sanders on that stage continues to defend the regime of Fidel Castro and saying look, he had this literacy program. Mercedes Schlapp from the Trump campaign was here on the program earlier, she said her father was thrown in prison by the Castro regime. How can you defend that? Just because they educate some kids they also raped people, murdered people, put others in prison. How do you defend that?
AMER ZAHR (SANDERS SURROGATE): It is almost as if maybe you guys weren't listening to Bernie Sanders last night and what he said repeatedly which is that -- and the same thing President Obama said -- which is, there were some good things that came out of what he did but authoritarianism which he practiced and Bernie Sanders was very clear that Fidel Castro was an authoritarian, that that should be denounced at every turn, that dissent should be allowed and shouldn't be imprisoned. He said that over and over again. So, if you guys want to bring up --
HENRY: He's trying to make a distinction, Amer, he's trying to say I'm against authoritarianism, but he's OK with socialism and communism, Bernie Sanders?
ZAHR: No, you know, you guys have to stop lying on the air. He doesn't say he is OK with socialism and --
HENRY: This is what he said.
ZAHR: He didn't say he's OK with socialism and communism. That's just not true.
HENRY: He just focused on authoritarianism, he didn't call out socialism and communism.
ZAHR: He said that -- look, authoritarianism is a feature of communism. He said he is not OK with authoritarianism wherever it happens. And you guys want to throw around these terms, that's fine, the truth is our ideas are popular with the American people, these are progressive ideas. Socialism means a government takeover of the economy, of all the means of production. Nobody's talking about that. We're talking about making an economy and having rules, an economic bill of rights to make sure people are treated fairly and equitably and that's not what's happening now. That's why our movement is so popular. That's why things are going well for Bernie. That's why he's the first candidate to win the popular vote in the first three Democratic primaries and that's why we're going to defeat Donald Trump.
HENRY: So Amer, last thing, were the people thrown in Castro's prisons treated fairly and equitably?
ZAHR: Of course not, and stop saying that we're saying that. Of course we are not saying that and Bernie has denounced that at every turn.
HENRY: I'm asking a question.
ZAHR: Of course not, of course they were not treated fairly and equitably. It's a ridiculous question.