A Cuban-American published a video on X this Friday in which she calls Donald Trump a "dictator" and announces that she will not process her daughter's passport as long as it bears the president's image, provoking a wave of criticism in the comments highlighting the contradiction of comparing the United States to a dictatorship.
The video emerges days after the announcement of the new commemorative passports featuring Trump's image, a limited edition of 25,000 units that the State Department will release in July 2026 to celebrate the 250th anniversary of American independence.
In the clip, the woman shows her American passport and states: "By 2034, I hope that dictator, my love, is no longer around for all of this. In fact, I would even like them to put Mickey Mouse instead. I don't care, especially not his face."
He then announces that he will not process his daughter's document: "She is not going to have a passport with the face of that filthy one here. I don't feel like it. Do you understand? And I am completely within my rights."
The users' reactions were largely critical of the video's protagonist, with hundreds of comments questioning the coherence of her words.
Mayra Dominguez, who reposted the clip on her X account, wrote: "Hearing a Cuban American say from the perspective of freedom that they are living in a dictatorship and that Donald Trump is a dictator is contradictory and incoherent. You have every right to express your opinion, but that doesn't mean it's accurate."
Another comment was even more direct: "Dictator because they no longer have the relaxation they had with the democrats. If she feels so uncomfortable, she should renounce her citizenship and return to Cuba."
A third user reflected more broadly on the community: "Democracy was not made for Cubans; the democratic republican history of Cuba is very short. In Cuba, there has always been a dictatorship, one way or another."
The debate reflects the deep division within the Cuban exile community in Miami regarding Trump: while a majority support him for his tough stance against the Castro regime, another group — particularly more recent migrants — criticize him for the termination of the humanitarian visa program for Cubans in 2025.
The accusation of "dictator" against Trump is particularly rejected by those who lived through or are familiar with the Castro dictatorship, where there is no freedom of the press, no free elections, and no right to protest without the risk of imprisonment.
The commemorative American passport includes a portrait of Trump taken during his second inauguration, surrounded by the text of the Declaration of Independence and his signature in gold lettering, marking the first time in history that a living president appears on that document.
The announcement also sparked controversy at the national level: former official Desirée Cormier Smith described it as "inconsistent with the principles of a democracy" and more akin to "a monarchy or worse, a cult that idolizes its leader," while the recent changes in U.S. passport mobility had already provoked debate among travelers and migrants.
Dominguez concluded his publication with a defense of the democratic system: "Donald Trump was elected by a majority and has not stopped working for this great country. If you don't like it, you have no choice but to wait for the next elections. God bless the United States of America."
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