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Trump Gaggles with Press at Joint Base Andrews, Dec. 17, 2025

December 17, 2025 · The White House · 0:01:43

Embedded from the source channel — never re-uploaded. Watch on YouTube

What happened

President Donald Trump took questions at Joint Base Andrews on December 17, 2025, after the day’s dignified transfer ceremony, which he called “a beautiful event for three great people,” describing the families present as devastated.

Asked whether the goal of the Venezuela blockade is regime change, the President said: “That’s just a blockade. Not going to let anybody going through that shouldn’t be going through.” Pressed on recovering assets, he said: “You remember they took all of our energy rights. They took all of our oil from not that long ago and we want it back. But they took it. They illegally took it.” Asked about the FBI leadership, he praised the deputy: “Dan did a great job… I think he wants to go back to his show,” as he stated it.

Why it matters

The gaggle is the President’s on-record framing of the Venezuela blockade on the day it was in the news — a blockade, in his words, aimed at oil and land he says were illegally taken — delivered hours before his address to the nation the same evening. This chronicle files it on the Foreign Policy & Defense hub.

Scoreboard watch

Scoreboard watch: the President’s stated objective for the blockade — recovering energy rights and oil he says Venezuela illegally took — is a dated position with a checkable outcome. Noted for the scoreboard editor; no entry is published from this page.

Sources: The White House, “President Trump Gaggles with Press at Joint Base Andrews,” Joint Base Andrews, MD, December 17, 2025 (official upload, embedded above). All characterizations as stated by the President in the exchange.