A Child Of Communism Makes It To The White House As An Adult

I am a child of communism, which doesn't make me much different than the hundreds of millions of people who have suffered the same curse, except for the fact I had a praying grandmother and parents who sacrificed everything to get me to America.

So, on Monday there I was…A grown man now, and an invited guest of President Donald Trump, roaming around the White House south lawn.

Only in America.

OutKick Invited To The White House

It's a long tale to share about how I got onto there to witness the Philadelphia Eagles publicly celebrated by President Trump, but the story's climax is stirring when you think about it.

About 15 yards from where I was sitting, the leader of the free world was standing, talking about a team full of NFL stars, while countless VIPs around me cheered and sang songs.

Yes, "Fly Eagles Fly," is etched in my head now.

The whole experience was surreal because I didn't do anything to deserve it except work for the amazing outfit at OutKick that has caught fire and the President's attention. So, OutKick was invited to attend as an invited guest.

And OutKick chose me to represent our staff.

WASHINGTON, DC - APRIL 28: U.S. President Donald Trump greets Philadelphia Eagles executive vice president Howie Roseman at an event welcoming the 2025 Super Bowl Champion Philadelphia Eagles on the South Lawn of the White House on April 28, 2025 in Washington, DC. President Trump honored the Eagles after their second Super Bowl victory, following their first win in 2018. (Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

An Afternoon At The White House

Afterward, I saw multiple colleagues that cover the NFL as well as or better than I do, and they suggested they were envious because I got a great perch for the event while they stood behind ropes in the back.

 And again, how does this happen to me? Only in America.

Let me tell you where it doesn't happen: Cuba.

That's where I was born into the tyranny of the Fidel Castro regime. Into poverty. Into a future that was destined for long days cutting sugar cane in fields the government stole from private citizens, or dying a young man in some forgettable battle in Angola, where Cuba was fighting to expand communism.

My parents saw that destiny before it manifested. And they cut it off at the roots.

Banner headlines of Britain's daily newspapers Oct. 23 announcing President Kennedy's blockade of Cuba. U.S. planes and ships, armed with orders to shoot if necessary, began taking up positions in the Caribbean Oct. 22 to cut off shipments of Communist offensive weapons to Cuba. The action aw ordered by President Kennedy who soberly told the nation in a national television address that Soviet missiles and other weapons had turned Cuba into an armed camp capable of hurling destruction into the heart of America.

The Freedom Flight Drama

Days after I was born at the very height of the Cold War, they petitioned to leave Cuba. 

That meant things back then. It meant they lost their jobs. It meant they lost their home. It meant they were considered enemies of the state.

But it also meant they had a hope their only child might live free even if their lives might be forfeit. And so, for years we waited for permission from both the United States government and Cuba's despots to leave.

That moment came in June of 1967 when an Eastern Airlines jet landed at Havana Airport as part of a program known as the Freedom Flights (Vuelos De La Libertad).  

My father, mother and I were supposed to board that plane to Miami. But as we got to the foot of the stairwell that led up to the plane's door and freedom, a bearded Castro guerrilla stopped us and demanded to inspect our papers.

circa 1959:  A group photo of Cuban citizen militia displaying weapons captured from dictator Fulgencio Batista's army in Fidel Castro's '26 of July Movement,' Cuba. The men wear army fatigues, posing around a machine gun.  (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

A Bittersweet Flight To Freedom

This man was right out of central casting. He wore a thick black beard and the Castro army green fatigues. He carried an AK-47 strapped to his shoulder.

My father produced our papers and waited silently as the guerrilla scanned the document and said, "All three of you are clear to leave … But I have decided that only two of you are going today."

I was four years old at the time and had only a vague memory of the incident, but my mother and father filled in for me the painful story's holes years later.

My father was not about to argue with the soldier because he could have just as easily turned us all away. So, instead, he told my mother to take the baby and go.

And my sobbing mother said she would not leave him and insisted we all stay. 

And my sobbing father ordered her to compose herself and carry the baby on that plane.

A woman holds a sign reading "America Open Your Eyes" as people wave Cuban and US flags during a Freedom Rally showing support for Cubans demonstrating against their government, at Freedom Tower in Miami, on July 17, 2021. - Cuba's President Miguel Diaz-Canel on July 17, denounced what he said was a false narrative over unrest on the Caribbean island, as the Communist regime vigorously pushed back against suggestions of historically widespread discontent. (Photo by Eva Marie UZCATEGUI / AFP) (Photo by EVA MARIE UZCATEGUI/AFP via Getty Images)

The Price Of Communism 

I was "the baby." And I was crying amid all the drama. When my mom and I finally got on board, she asked the flight attendant for some "water, please."

It was the first time I heard any words in English.

That was 1967 and my father did not join us in the United States until late 1970. 

He was thin and seemed frail the next time I saw him. I didn't recognize this tall, haggard man walking toward us at Kennedy Airport. 

But soon I realized I had my father again and had to learn to love him again, because I had forgotten how in those three-plus years apart.

Communism did that. 

A Trump 2024 flag is seen as people wave Cuban and US flags during a Freedom Rally showing support for Cubans demonstrating against their government, at Freedom Tower in Miami, on July 17, 2021. - Cuba's President Miguel Diaz-Canel on July 17, denounced what he said was a false narrative over unrest on the Caribbean island, as the Communist regime vigorously pushed back against suggestions of historically widespread discontent. (Photo by Eva Marie UZCATEGUI / AFP) (Photo by EVA MARIE UZCATEGUI/AFP via Getty Images)

A Story Only America Can Author

And you want to know why multiple generations of Cuban-Americans vote as a bloc against communists and their little demonic socialist minions? Because we've lived it. We're intimately familiar with it.

None of this was at the forefront of my thoughts when I arrived at the White House on Monday. My mind was on doing my job and getting a story.

And, to be honest, I was somewhat disappointed I didn't get inside the White House because that would have made my heart leap. Imagine me, a child of communism, inside the Nation's House.

But after the Eagles' event was over, and I left the south lawn, it dawned on me, I hadn't failed to find a story. I had already carried one inside of me when I arrived, and merely going through the gates of the White House grounds brought that story out.

Only in America.