Joseph Biden actually said...

In my view, lifting sanctions at this time will merely strengthen Robert Mugabe and the cabal around him.

President Kabila has been using every tactic at his disposal to manipulate institutions, suppress political opposition, and delay elections.

U.S. sanctions have been a very powerful and visible bipartisan signal of U.S. policy of standing firm on democracy.

Changing or ignoring those rules risks breaking that trust and sending a society towards turmoil and instability.