On this day in 1959, Fidel Castro visited the US and spoke at “Meet the Press” a few days later:
“The trip got off to an inauspicious start when it became clear that President Dwight D. Eisenhower had no intention of meeting with Castro. Instead, Eisenhower went to the golf course to avoid any chance meeting with Castro.
Castro gave a talk to the Council on Foreign Affairs, a New York-based group of private citizens and former government officials interested in U.S. international relations.
Castro was confrontational during the session, indicating that Cuba would not beg the United States for economic assistance.
Angered by some of the questions from the audience, Castro abruptly left the meeting.
Finally, before departing for Cuba, Castro met with Vice President Richard Nixon. Privately, Nixon hoped that his talk would push Castro “in the right direction,” and away from any radical policies, but he came away from his discussion full of doubt about the possibility of reorienting Castro’s thinking.
Nixon concluded that Castro was “either incredibly naive about communism or under communist discipline-my guess is the former.””
Last, but not least, Doctor Castro said this on ‘Meet the Press”:
http://youtu.be/UcjC4Zi6TzU