Reminder: As Nicaraguan Socialist Leader Eliminates Elections, Never Forget Bernie Sanders Praising Him, Offering PR Advice

It feels like Sen. Bernie Sanders is everywhere this spring and summer. Along with his socialist BFF Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, he’s been barnstorming in support of far-left candidates who’ve been racking up primary win after primary win.

He barely even hit a speed bump with the Graham Platner fiasco. In fact, it looks like Platner’s going to be replaced with a (supposedly) non-rapey socialist once the Democrats fill his spot in the Maine Senate race. In Michigan, he was appearing with AOC in support of Abdul El-Sayed, a hardcore lefty with some very problematic attachments to radical groups.

Of all the leaders he wants to tell you he’s supported this year, however, one he’s probably going to leave out is Nicaragua’s Daniel Ortega.

Ortega was, once upon a time, a lefty favorite, as well. If you’ve ever heard of the Sandinistas or Iran-Contra scandal, you know a little bit about Ortega and how much of a threat the United States thought he was. Sanders, like many on the far left, thought the guy was fantastic.

He’s served two stints in office as president of Nicaragua, the latest beginning in 2007. You may be doing the math in your head, and perhaps you can see where this is going. If not, from Reuters on Tuesday:

Nicaragua’s long-serving president Daniel Ortega said the Central American country will no longer hold elections, eliminating the possibility ‌of an electoral challenge when his term ends next year and further entrenching the rule he s with his wife. ..

“There won’t be any more elections here for them to try to seize the government and seize power,” Ortega said in a ​speech on Sunday evening to commemorate the 1979 Sandinista revolution, in which Ortega helped overthrow the U.S.-backed Anastasio ⁠Somoza dictatorship.

“The days when parties backed by the Yankees (United States) and the Somocistas would return to power are over – never again,” he added, in ​the 80-year-old’s first public appearance in two months.

Wow. So it’s almost like Ronald Reagan, Ollie North, and the rest of the crew had this guy pegged back in the day. You know who didn’t, or at least who didn’t care? Bernie Sanders, of course.

Back in 1985, at the beginning of Ortega’s first stint as president, Sanders made a visit down there. He was only the mayor of Burlington, Vermont, but he was still an oddity due to the fact that he was an elected socialist in the United States.

Such things were unheard of back then (still should be, really, but we’re regrettably forced to deal with the world as it is and not as it ought to be), which is what made him a quasi-celebrity, particularly with the kind of person who still read The Nation and drove around in a VW Microbus during the Reagan era.

In an interview with local media after the trip to Nicaragua, Sanders called Ortega “an impressive guy.”

“As a socialist, the word socialism does not frighten me,” Sanders said. “And I think it’s fair to say the Nicaraguan government is primarily a socialist government.”

And, you know what? He even managed to give them PR tips, as well.

“The point that I tried to make to many of the people that I spoke to is they’re getting killed in the American media,” Sanders said.

“They just cannot compete. Reagan and his people are so sophisticated. They own the airwaves, of course — Reagan, the media. Every time Reagan gives them a photo opportunity, thousands — ‘Thank you, Mr. President! Thank you very much for telling us another lie.’”

“You know, the media, of course, is not allowed to ask sharp questions of the president,” Sanders continued. “That is not allowed. And, you know, my point to Ortega is they are not getting their message of what they are trying to do out to the American people, and there’s, and there’s just no question about that.”

It may have been 1985, but it’s still worth noting, as many conservative accounts did after Ortega’s announcement Tuesday:

Breaking: Nicaragua’s dictator, Daniel Ortega, announced today that his country will no longer hold elections.

Here’s @BernieSanders celebrating his role in advising Ortega after he took power, and praising the very socialist dictator who has now abolished elections. https://t.co/hkoBGPjJbx pic.twitter.com/nAl4ddHSj1

— Reagan Battalion (@ReaganBattalion) July 21, 2026

But, I mean, that can’t happen in America, right? Not with the DSA-backed or DSA-adjacent candidates Sanders likes to support.

DSA Members: “We might not even have a president. Abolish the Senate, abolish the Supreme Court.” pic.twitter.com/7qhnvNcl8N

— DSA Watch (@DSA_Watch) July 16, 2026

Oh.

This is the natural impulse of socialists: Centralizing power permanently means keeping power permanently. There’s no way around that. If the government is going to expropriate and redistribute whatever it wants without people eventually stepping in, it eventually needs a Daniel Ortega to step in and say “never again” to pesky things like elections.

Sanders knew this in 1985; Cuba was a fanatical dictatorship and he was effusively praising it, too, which is to say he knew perfectly well what road Nicaragua would tread down.

He may not see America saunter down that dread path during his lifetime, but he’s certainly doing his best at attempting to install the people who could make his dream come true long after he passes from this vale of tears.

Let this warning from 40 years ago sound as clear as day in the ears of every American voter: Not only can it happen here, the man who’s promoting the Graham Platners and Abdul El-Sayeds of this election cycle knows it can happen here, and is encouraging it.

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