Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez may be an abject failure as a head of government — and a traitor to his country — but he’s no dummy.
The corrupt and unpopular leader tries to steer clear of unscripted interactions with the public whenever possible, to avoid embarrassing footage documenting Spaniards’ growing dissatisfaction with his rule. He prefers scripted appearances that he can carefully manage or interviews with sycophantic allies in the media.
We saw this during his recent trip to New York for the United Nations General Assembly. First, there was his meeting with a fellow Socialist and Israel hater, New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, on September 23 at Gracie Mansion, where they united, as CBS put it, “over their shared progressive ideals.”
Try not to cringe as you watch the two men who share goals ranging from raising taxes and seeking the arrest of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to opposing border enforcement try to be relatable by shooting paper balls into a trash can. After all, as Sánchez put it, most unnaturally, “Being a leftist means taking big shots.”
Sánchez also ran to Jon Stewart's podcast for a softball interview in which he bragged about Spain's economy and reducing inequality. He didn't talk about the tens of thousands of Spaniards who regularly protest his government over this year's Ceuta border invasion, in which more than 70,000 migrants entered from Morocco, which has left residents — especially women and minors — afraid to leave their homes, and a housing affordability crisis that has worsened under his policies.
Related: WATCH: Spain’s Socialist PM Sánchez Gets a Blunt One-Word Message on Floor of Congress: ‘TRAITOR’
Watch Stewart laugh uncontrollably as Sánchez — a liar if there ever was one — describes President Donald Trump's UN General Assembly speech as "not supported by facts":
The prime minister surely thought his September 24 visit to Harvard University, where the prime minister who rules like an autocrat spoke on "The Technoligarch Threat to Democracy," would be just as easy as the Stewart interview was. But a brave Harvard student confronted him on his corruption and failed leadership:
I'm very curious to ask you about the fact that your wife, your brother, your former attorney general, your former chief of staff, your wife's personal assistant are among nine different corruption investigations currently ongoing into your government. Some people are in jail in connection to this. Some people are on trial. Some people are under indictment. And so I'm curious when we have this conversation about how to restore faith in government and how to shed the perception the government is influenced by dark money, how you see yourself and your government at a time when according to European Commission opinion polls, many Spaniards think that you're one of the reasons behind corruption within Spain.
Sánchez nods his head uncomfortably as he's asked the question before proceeding to blame the “far right” — just like he did over the Ceuta crisis:
Most Spaniards are not blaming the "far right" — or Israel — for Ceuta and Sánchez's other failures. A recent Sigma Dos poll showed that 82.2% of voters, including 56.9% of supporters of his own Socialist Workers’ Party (PSOE), believe his government “has not done enough” about the crisis. As soon as he arrived back in Spain from New York, he was heckled during a trip to Toledo, with protesters calling him a "traitor," among other insults.
This week, he was in O Grove, a coastal town in Pontevedra, for a seafood festival. As he sampled some octopus, he was booed and met with chants of "Ceuta is not for sale" and "Ceuta must be defended." You can also hear shouts of "shameless," which he proceeds to demonstrate as he smiles and laughs while ignoring the hoi polloi.
Santiago Abascal, the leader of the conservative Vox party, often criticizes Sánchez for avoiding the public. Last year, he told him, "I encourage you to go out into the streets, even in disguise, because that way you could find out what Spaniards really think about you, without any filter." I'm glad Spaniards — and others — have used the limited opportunities they've had to find ways to express their feelings directly to his face.
Editor's Note: The Democrat Party has been infected by socialism, and it's spreading FAST. Democrats are claiming there's nothing to worry about, but we know the truth.
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