Former President Donald Trump finally commented on the Arctic prison death of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny – taking the opportunity to overturn ‘extremely unfair’ US court rulings
Trump has faced public criticism for failing to make a statement following Navalny’s death in a penal colony on the Arctic Circle. He had been transferred to a series of prisons and repeatedly placed in solitary confinement after returning to his home country following an attempted poisoning using a nerve agent.
“The sudden death of Alexei Navalny has made me increasingly aware of what is happening in our country,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform on Monday.
“It’s a slow, steady progression, with CROOKED, radical left politicians, prosecutors and judges leading us down a path to destruction. Open borders, rigged elections and grossly unfair court decisions are DESTROYING AMERICA. WE ARE A NATION IN RETURN, A FAILING NATION! MAGA2024′
Former President Donald Trump finally commented on the death of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navelny – in a post that immediately focused on his own grievances with the US justice system
While he didn’t specifically link his post to his own legal situation, it came 15 minutes after he encountered the “COOKED, HAND PICKED JUDGE” who ordered him to pay $355 million following his New York fraud case.
Notably, Trump’s statement did not specifically condemn Navalny’s death and imprisonment. it comes after President Joe Biden said Russian President Vladimir Putin was “responsible.” A series of world leaders demanded Putin pay for the 47-year-old’s death in prison, with Latvia’s president saying he had been “brutally murdered”.
Critics had spoken out about Trump’s silence after Navalny’s death, which followed years of statements about his desire to “deal with Russia for a long time” under President Vladimir Putin.
At a meeting this month, Trump again attacked NATO allies for failing to meet the agreed-upon 2 percent threshold for defense spending — then said he would encourage Russia to invade countries he sees as ne’er-do-wells.
Navalny died in a Russian penal colony above the Artice Circle
President Biden has said that Russian President Vladimir Putin is responsible for Navalny’s death
On Truth Social Friday, Trump called the person “despicable” who created an AI version of the ex-president playing golf (above left) where he looks fat. He shared several photos of him playing golf in real life to make his point
In a follow-up post, Haley called out Trump for staying silent on Navalny’s death but “posting on social media more than 20 times about his legal drama and fake polls”
Haley, Trump’s latest rival for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, shared a 2015 quote from the ex-president casting doubt on allegations that Putin had journalists killed
“No, I wouldn’t protect you,” Trump said. ‘Actually, I would encourage them to do whatever they want. You have to pay. You have to pay your bills.’
Trump’s remaining Republican Party primary rival, Nikki Haley, went after Trump Monday morning over his silence in an interview on “Fox and Friends.”
‘I find it amazing how weak in the knees he is when it comes to Putin. Because you look at the fact: he hasn’t said anything yet about Navalny’s death, where Putin killed him. It’s what he does to his political opponents,” she said.
She also attacked Trump on ABC’s “This Week” on Sunday, accusing Trump of siding with Putin, one of whose key allies threatened nuclear attacks on Washington if Russia does not succeed on the battlefield against Ukraine.
“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 said.
“Either of these is concerning. Both are a problem,” Haley said.
In the immediate aftermath of reports of Navalny’s death, Trump turned to Truth Social to complain about AI-generated images of him playing golf that were manipulated to make him look overweight as he went after Biden for his visit to East Palestine, Ohio.
Trump continues to poll well nationally against Biden, and has largely avoided condemnation from his own party over his stance on Russia, as skepticism grows among House Republicans about U.S. military support for Ukraine.
“A broad coalition of political forces in the US, ranging from Mike Pence on the right to Bernie Sanders on the left, are anti-Putin. Against them are Donald Trump and some of his pro-Putin acolytes,” conservative Trump critic William Kristol and Andrew Eggar wrote in the paper. Stronghold Monday.
“The likely candidate of one of our two major political parties is pro-Vladimir Putin. This is an astonishing fact. It’s a terrible fact. It must be a central fact of the 2024 campaign… That’s all the more reason to hang Putin around Trump’s neck. It could be a harder sell for Trump to some swing voters,” they advise.
President Biden said Republicans in Congress were making a “bid mistake” if they don’t take action on the $60 billion in U.S. aid for Ukraine that has already passed the Senate.
‘They are making a big mistake by not responding. The way they’re running away from the threat of Russia, the way they’re running away from NATO. They run away from meeting our obligations. It’s just shocking… I’ve never seen anything like it,” Biden said at the White House on Monday after returning from Delaware.
He said he hoped Navalny’s death would make a difference for Republicans and said the administration was considering additional sanctions against Russia.