President signs a Cuba sanctions order on Loyalty Day, because of course he did.

The President signed an executive order on Friday tightening sanctions on Cuba. New blocking authority. New travel bans. New secondary sanctions on any foreign bank that gets cute with Havana. The order covers energy, defense, mining, financial services, security. It is, on paper, a serious piece of work.

It is also, on the calendar, May 1. Loyalty Day.

I know that’s not a famous one. Truman put it on the books in 1958 to compete with the May Day parade Moscow used to throw. The point was: while the communists are out marching, we’ll be in here being patriotic. And every president since has signed the proclamation, like clockwork, and every May 2 nobody can remember it happened.

Now along comes a President who saw the date on the calendar and thought, let’s combine the brand assets. Loyalty Day. Cuba. Sanctions. Camera. Done. South Florida congressman lined up with a quote inside the hour.

Buddy. I know a guy who used to run a sportsbook out of a deli in Margate. He knew the difference between a real play and a promotional play. A real play moves the line. A promotional play is the day they hand out free hats. The Cuba sanctions are not a free hat. There are real teeth in there if Treasury actually swings them. But the signing was a free hat. May 1. Loyalty Day. Friday afternoon. South Florida media. The works.

The administration has been talking about Cuba military action since the Iran fight started. The order is setting up something bigger and, in the meantime, scratching the itch of the Cuban-American voters who carried Florida. Both can be true.

Funny how that works. The communists used to march on May 1. Now we sign sanctions instead. Progress, I guess.