President Donald Trump said Friday that the United States would maintain sanctions on Cuba and Venezuela until they restore political and religious freedom.
"We're confronting rogue regimes from Iran to North Korea and we are challenging the communist dictatorship of Cuba and the socialist oppression of Venezuela," Trump told the Values Voter summit, a conservative political conference. "And we will not lift the sanctions on these repressive regimes until they restore political and religious freedom for their people."
Trump also reviewed his accomplishments, noting that he's followed through on promise after promise since taking office.
He cited his nomination of Neil Gorsuch to the Supreme Court. He says Gorsuch is in the mold of Justice Antonin Scalia, the conservative whose death in February 2016 created the vacancy on the high court that Trump was able to fill.
He also said he's "stopping cold" attacks on Judeo-Christian values.
People are saying "Merry Christmas" again, he said, instead of politically correct expressions that avoid mention of the Christian holiday. He also said he hoped Congress will give the American people a Christmas gift by passing his tax cut proposal.
Material from Reuters and The Associated Press was used in this report.
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