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Secretary of State Mike Pompeo speaks at Sumter County Fairgrounds

Updated  January 23, 2020 10:47pm EST
Politics
FOX 35 Orlando

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BUSHNELL, Fla. - U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has just completed a week of travel with trips to Europe and South American.  Before returning to Washington, DC, he made a stop in Florida.

Secretary Pompeo was invited by the Sumter County Teen Court to speak before a small crowd at the Sumter County Fairgrounds.  His remarks focused on foreign policy -- more specifically, spreading democracy and religious freedom around the world.

“It is so great to be here with so many patriots, so many Floridians. It beats the heck out of that other swamp,” said Pompeo

He touted accomplishments of the Trump Administration and its strong support for pro-life policy and free markets. 

“Every human being should be given that shot to make it, to take risks and do it just the way they want to,” said Pompeo.

Secretary Pompeo also explained his foreign policy aims to promote religious freedom.

“We know that 83 percent of the world’s population lives in nations where religious freedom doesn’t exist or is challenged, from Syria to Nigeria to China. We’ve got work to do but we’ll keep after it,” said Pompeo.

The secretary also made an indirect plea to voters to support the direction our country is going in under President Donald Trump’s leadership.

“America will prevail.  We should all bet on our nation, we should all support the foreign policy that has been laid out and we should all work together to make sure that we deliver each and every day, a safer, more secure, more prosperous United States of America,” he said.

“It was just a privilege to see Mike Pompeo and hear exactly what’s happening from the people that truly make the decisions,” said Sam Janowitz, The Villages resident. 

“I am so excited to be in the same room, he is unbelievably fabulous,” said Leslie Janowitz, The Villages resident.

Pompeo also gave Gov. Ron DeSantis an update on Latin American affairs during a trip to Florida. He met with the governor, elected officials and prominent members of South Florida's Venezuelan community Thursday, the day after the state Senate condemned Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega. Pompeo said before the meeting that he wanted to talk about the opportunities and challenges in the face of tyranny in Venezuela and Cuba. In a phone interview, he also talked about U.S. support for opposition leaders in Nicaragua in the quest for fair elections.