Critics cry foul as Obama tries to juggle baseball and diplomacy in Cuba
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Version 0 of 1. On Tuesday, during the first trip to Cuba by a US president since 1928, Barack Obama and the Cuban president, Raúl Castro, attended a friendly exhibition baseball game. Terror attacks in Brussels earlier that day, however, left the president facing a difficult challenge: how can the White House present a historic and long-planned celebration at a moment of dire international crisis? The baseball game, between the Tampa Bay Rays and Cuba’s national team, was months in the planning and its symbolism plain to citizens of both countries – the last time an MLB team played in Cuba was 1999, when Fidel Castro was still president. This was the chance for Obama and Castro’s successor to sit down in public together, surrounded by thousands of everyday Cubans, and show the world what Obama has hailed as “a new era” of the Americas. The White House tried to anticipate the image problem – Obama laughing with Castro about baseball while world leaders spoke of a war on western values – by releasing a photo on Tuesday morning of the president at his most intense. The furrowed brow, clenched fist in front of his face and downward stare are a study in gravitas. His national security adviser, Susan Rice, sits next to him, her eyes looking upwards in concentration. The thick folder of briefing papers underscores the difficulty and complication of the crisis, as does the White House’s note that the president was hearing from his homeland security adviser, Lisa Monaco. The baseball game acknowledged the dissonance of its celebratory mood on the same day that saw much of the world mourning. An announcement came over the loudspeaker: “We condemn the acts of terrorism in Belgium.” Doves were released, national anthems were sung, and a minute of silence was held for the victims in Brussels. During the game itself, ESPN asked Obama about attending so soon after a terrorist attack. “It’s always a challenge when you have a terrorist attack anywhere in the world,” Obama said. “You want to be respectful and understand the gravity of the situation, but the whole premise of terrorism is to try to disrupt people’s ordinary lives.” The president ignored cries from the crowd as the catcher caught a pop-up ball in foul territory. “One of my most powerful memories and one of my proudest moments as president,” he continued, “was watching Boston respond after the marathon,” which was bombed in a terrorist attack in April 2013. Obama recalled seeing David Ortiz, a star for the Boston Red Sox, go on live TV to speak about the attacks. “He talked about Boston, how strong it was, and it was not going to be terrorized. And that is the kind of resilience and the kind of strength that we have to continually show in the face of these terrorists. They cannot defeat America. They don’t produce anything, they don’t have a message that appeals to the vast majority of Muslims or the vast majority of people around the world. “What they can do is scare and make people afraid, and disrupt our daily lives, and divide us. And as long as we don’t allow that to happen, we’re going to be OK.” With the incongruity of moods between Havana and the world acknowledged, the president proceeded to enjoy the two games – baseball and diplomatic – and the White House let the media project this friendly face of America out to the world. Smiling in his sunglasses and a shirt with no tie, Obama bantered in front of the cameras with the Cuban president and former New York Yankee Derek Jeter. .@POTUS and Derek Jeter, cool customers: https://t.co/qyTY6UKgTX #MLBinCuba pic.twitter.com/R5W9wzRiWn He did the wave with Castro. President Obama does 'the wave' alongside Raúl Castro in Cuba pic.twitter.com/bSLcVkOLxn He teased his wife. Barack Obama teasing Michelle Obama while watching a baseball game in Cuba. This is great. pic.twitter.com/qACROWeMlN In the US, the president’s political opponents were far less forgiving of his conduct. Most vocal among them were the Republicans running for president, each a vociferous critic of Obama’s foreign policy. “President Obama should be back in America keeping this country safe. Or President Obama should be planning to travel to Brussels,” said senator Ted Cruz of Texas. “The president must return home immediately and get to work with our allies to respond with strength against the enemies of the west,” Ohio governor John Kasich demanded. The most likely nominee among the Republicans running, Donald Trump, resorted to his favorite medium for demeaning his opponents: Twitter. He called for the president to return to the White House. Pres. Obama should leave the baseball game in Cuba immediately & get home to Washington- where a #POTUS, under a serious emergency belongs! Prominent conservatives joined the chorus, including Richard Grenell, a former diplomat and Fox News contributor, and John Podhoretz, a former speechwriter for Ronald Reagan and a New York Post columnist. Obama: "fighting ISIS is my top priority." pic.twitter.com/NNlYMmlVXG As Brussels is on lockdown, Obama is doing the wave in Havana. |