"Of course he meant it, he just didn’t think that he’d get called on it.
"Via CBS:
Although he will not be at the debate Thursday night, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio’s gaffe at a Miami rally has stirred controversy in Florida.De Blasio says he did not mean to quote Ernesto “Che” Guevara, the iconic Marxist revolutionary who helped install Fidel Castro as Cuba’s dictator, during an appearance in Miami on Thursday.“Hasta la victoria, siempre!” de Blasio said at a rally for striking airline workers at Miami Airport. The quote, which translates to “Ever on to victory,” is associated so closely with Guevara that it appears alongside his portrait on t-shirts and buttons sold as symbols of revolution.De Blasio later said that he did not mean to quote Guevara.“I did not know the phrase I used in Miami today was associated with Che Guevara & I did not mean to offend anyone who heard it that way. I certainly apologize for not understanding that history,” de Blasio, who in his twenties was an outspoken supporter of Nicaragua’s socialist Sandinista movement, tweeted Thursday afternoon.