Liz Cheney fears the West Wing will become the ‘Putin Wing’ if Trump is re-elected after former president refused to condemn Russia following the death of opposition leader Alexey Navalny and encouraged the Kremlin to attack NATO allies

Former Rep. Liz Cheney warned that there was a “Putin wing” of the Republican Party and said that if Donald Trump were re-elected, it “could take over the West Wing of the White House.”

Her comments to CNN came after former President Trump refused to condemn Russia over the death of opposition leader Alexei Navalny and encouraged the Kremlin to attack NATO allies.

Cheney said, “We have to take seriously the extent to which you now have a Putin wing of the Republican Party.

“I believe the issue of this election cycle will keep the Putin wing of the Republican Party from taking over the West Wing of the White House.”

Trump has come under fire for ‘siding with Russia’ after failing to mention Russian President Vladimir Putin in his response to Navalny’s death – in stark contrast to President Joe Biden who blamed ‘Putin and his thugs’ explained.

Speaking on CNN, she warned that there is now a “Putin wing” of the Republican party

Navalny, 47, was the leader of the opposition to the Kremlin and was held in a penal colony in the Arctic, where he was found dead on Friday. Many claimed he was ‘assassinated’ by Vladimir Putin’s regime.

On Sunday, his body was found to show signs of bruising consistent with him being held down while having a seizure, raising fears he was killed on Vladimir Putin’s orders.

Addressing his death, Biden said: “Make no mistake: Putin is responsible for Navalny’s death. Putin is responsible. What happened to Navalny is further proof of Putin’s brutality. No one should be fooled.’

Trump, on the other hand, did not even mention Navalny directly in his response, instead reporting on his own criminal cases and political opponents.

Cheney said: “For example, if you think about Donald Trump promising retaliation, what Vladimir Putin did to Navalny is what retaliation looks like in a country where a leader is not subject to the rule of law.”

Similarly, Nikki Haley blasted Trump for what she called his “chilling” response to Navalny’s death.

The 2024 hopefuls said Trump’s silence on Navalny’s death showed the ex-president was siding with Putin, or showing a sense of apathy toward a world leader who murdered his opponent.

Trump did not mention Putin in his response to Navalny’s death and rather encouraged Russia to attack NATO allies

Vladimir Putin (pictured) is accused of arranging his assassination

She told ABC News: “It’s actually quite astonishing that he… doesn’t want to acknowledge anything with Navalny.

“Either he sides with Putin and thinks it’s cool that Putin killed one of his political opponents, or he just doesn’t think it’s that big of a deal,” she added. “Either of these is concerning. Either one is a problem.

It comes after Trump faced a slew of backlash for encouraging Putin to attack delinquent NATO allies.

Trump told a crowd in Conway, South Carolina, last weekend that if he were to run for president again, he would not protect NATO allies from Russia if they did not pay their fair share to the alliance.

“The president of a great country stood up and said, ‘If we don’t pay and we are attacked by Russia, will you protect us?’ I said you haven’t paid, are you overdue? He said, ‘Yes, let’s say that happened.’

“No, I wouldn’t protect you,” Trump said last Saturday. “In fact, I would encourage them (Russia) to do whatever they want.”

‘You have to pay! You have to pay your bills.’

NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg said his comment “undermines all our security, including that of the US, and puts American and European soldiers in greater danger.”

Cheney said in the new interview: “He has, in fact, made it clear that under a Trump administration, the United States is unlikely to adhere to its NATO commitments.”

Former UN Ambassador. Nikki Haley attacked former President Donald Trump for remaining silent on the death of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s political rival and prisoner, Alexei Navalny

Haley has become increasingly critical of Trump’s soft stance on Russia and Putin’s empowerment. Pictured: Trump and Putin speaking at the APEC Leaders’ Summit in Vietnam on November 11, 2017

She branded his comments “dangerous” and said they showed “a complete lack of understanding of America’s role in the world.”

Cheney also did not rule out running for president through a third party, but added that she would.whatever it takes to beat Donald Trump.”

Haley also denounced his comments about NATO, saying, “If you hear Donald Trump say a week ago in South Carolina that he would encourage Putin to invade our allies if they didn’t do their best.

‘That’s chilling, because all he did in that one moment was give Putin power.

“And all he did at that moment was side with a man who is killing his political opponents, he sided with a criminal who arrests American journalists and holds them hostage, and he sided with a man who government wanted to make it clear to people – don’t challenge me in the next elections, otherwise this will happen to you too.’