Sen. Bernie Sanders Bernie SandersNYT editorial board remembers Ginsburg: She 'will forever have two legacies' Two GOP governors urge Republicans to hold off on Supreme Court nominee Sanders knocks McConnell: He's going against Ginsburg's 'dying wishes' MORE (I-Vt.) and former Vice President Joe Biden Joe BidenMomentum growing among Republicans for Supreme Court vote before Election Day Trump expects to nominate woman to replace Ginsburg next week Video of Lindsey Graham arguing against nominating a Supreme Court justice in an election year goes viral MORE traded barbs Tuesday night over Sanders's positive remarks about communist Cuba and whether former President Obama ever made similar comments.

"What I said is what Barack Obama Barack Hussein ObamaMomentum growing among Republicans for Supreme Court vote before Election Day Warning signs flash for Lindsey Graham in South Carolina Majority of voters say Trump should not nominate a Supreme Court justice: poll MORE said, in terms of Cuba, that Cuba made progress on education," Sanders said at South Carolina's Democratic debate, doubling down on comments from a recent "60 Minutes" interview that drew criticism from fellow White House hopefuls.



Biden quickly interjected, saying Obama never spoke highly of Cuba's regime. The former vice president cited a town hall-style meeting Obama held in Argentina in 2016.



"He did not in any way suggest that there was anything positive about the Cuban government — acknowledge that they did increase life expectancy, but he went on to condemn the dictatorship," said Biden.





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During the town hall meeting, Obama relayed his conversation with Raúl Castro, Cuba's president at the time: "I said, look, you've made great progress in educating young people. Every child in Cuba gets a basic education; that's a huge improvement from where it was.""Medical care — the life expectancy of Cubans is equivalent to the United States, despite it being a very poor country, because they have access to health care. That's a huge achievement. They should be congratulated. But you drive around Havana and you say this economy is not working," Obama added.Biden on Tuesday accused Sanders of not condemning the authoritarianism of Cuba's leaders and their regional ally, Nicaragua."Categorically untrue," Sanders responded. "Cuba, Nicaragua, authoritarianism of any stripe is bad. That is different than saying that governments occasionally do things that are good."