The comedian and host Bill Maher strongly criticized the activists from the radical left organization CodePink who traveled to Cuba in support of the regime, labeling their behavior as "insane" and pointing out that the island has been mired in extreme poverty for 67 years, which has nothing to do with U.S. sanctions.
The statements were made this Monday in the latest episode of his podcast "Club Random with Bill Maher," during a conversation with Democratic Senator John Fetterman (Pennsylvania), and the clip quickly went viral on social media.
"I know people who have been to Cuba. If you think you understand poverty in America, you have no idea what poverty really is," Maher stated on the program. "And this has been happening for 67 years. It didn't start when we took away their oil."
Maher ridiculed the hypocrisy of the activists, who stayed at the only luxury hotel with electricity and air conditioning while the Cuban people suffered power outages of up to 20 hours a day.
"These idiots with their $1,300 designer glasses going to support the people. They stay in the only luxury hotel while the people don't have electricity; everything they do is air-conditioned," he said.
The presenter also revealed that during the visit, the activists went to the North Korean embassy in Havana, and one of them posted on social media their "solidarity with North Korea for being two regimes against the violence of the U.S."
"The level of stupidity of these kids is that they know only one thing: that this country, America, is the worst that has ever existed. That's how they have been indoctrinated," Maher stated.
Senator Fetterman, for his part, asked bluntly: "Do you know that you are useful idiots? Or are you so ignorant that you are supporting a regime that has trapped an entire nation in extreme poverty and misery?"
Maher also lamented the island's wasted potential: "Cuba could be the St. Bart's of the Caribbean. It could be anything. It's Cuba, it's in the Caribbean. And it has been a nightmare for almost a century."
The direct background of the criticisms is the "Convoy Nuestra América", held from March 18 to March 24, 2026, the largest delegation of Western leftist activists to Cuba in decades.
CodePink chartered a plane from Miami with 100 participants who each paid $1,600, and the delegation delivered 6,300 pounds of medicine valued at $433,000 to the regime.
Among the participants were former British Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, Spanish politician Pablo Iglesias, streamer Hasan Piker, Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib, and Isra Hirsi, daughter of Congresswoman Ilhan Omar.
The activists stayed in five-star hotels with their own generators, including establishments on the State Department's list of prohibited accommodations, while their visit coincided with the third electrical collapse of the month in Cuba, with blackouts affecting 90% of Havana.
Maher is one of the most influential political commentators in the United States. Since 2003, he has hosted "Real Time with Bill Maher" on HBO —with 42 Emmy nominations— and in 2022 he launched "Club Random," one of the most listened-to podcasts in the country.
The Miami-Dade Board of Commissioners unanimously approved a resolution on April 22 condemning leftist groups who engaged in "tourism" in Cuba while the Cuban people suffered through one of their worst energy and humanitarian crises in decades.
Filed under: