Cuba and Bernie Sanders: Analysis of the Online Media Discourse at a Crucial Moment of the 2020 Democratic Nomination Race

Abstract

This paper examines the way Cuba was represented in noticeable online media in connection with Bernie Sanders’ aspirations to become the Democratic nominee for the 2020 presidential election. Traditional anticommunism and a historical one-sided view on Cuba in the press, as well as widespread conceptual confusion about “socialism” in US society, converged against Sanders over the run-up to the nomination, especially at a crucial moment in February 2020 when he was the frontrunner and was interviewed by CBS. The paper analyses the reaction of the online press to Sanders’ comments on Cuba during the interview, but also considers other US press reports during 2019 as well as specialised literature on the topic. Discourse Analysis parameters are brought forward to highlight ideological discourse representations in the media.