Michael Crowley

The other problem is that it's a question of what you would want from the Cubans.

And Rubio gave an interview over the weekend that gave us some clues as to what they might be thinking.

And he said that it's really important that Cuba's government agree to some significant changes to its state-run socialist economy.

He really emphasized the economy over the political system.

But he has made clear many times over the years that other deals the U.S.

has struck with the Cuban government, which in his view have led to

very incremental reforms were almost worse than nothing.

You know, Rubio's reaction is that that's the Cuban government being dishonest, playing for time, making promises it has no intention of keeping and eventually reneging on.

That's absolutely right.

So that leaves you with a situation where it looks like the Cuban government would have to essentially agree to its own demise.

to get Trump off its back.

And that seems very unlikely.

I mean, it's basically suicidal.

Again, I'm talking to many people who have followed the Cuban leadership over the years, and they say that they just can't imagine that happening.

Now, at the same time, if this economy and society is totally collapsing around them, and who knows, maybe at some point you start having popular protests, that could convince them to make a deal like that.

But that's a very extreme situation.

It's a great question.

I think that most of the time, very few Americans are thinking about Cuba and don't really care that much about it.

But having said that, I still think there's little doubt that if President Trump were to bring down the communist government of Cuba implanted by Fidel Castro almost 70 years ago,

and he was able to do it without destroying Cuba along the way, I really think that that would be widely regarded around the world as kind of a historic triumph.