Trump’s Statement on Navalny Doesn’t Mention the Russian Opposition Figure or Putin — Rips Biden Instead

Isaac SchorrFeb 16th, 2024, 2:10 pm

(AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File)

While much of the world mourned the suspicious death of Russian opposition figure Alexei Navalny in prison on Friday, former president and likely Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump has yet to address it directly.

When CNN’s Kate Sullivan reached out to the Trump campaign to see if he had any comment on Navalny’s death, they apparently directed Sullivan to the following Truth Social post, which tears into President Joe Biden but does not mention Navalny or the man who poisoned him and threw him in prison, Vladimir Putin:

In just three and a half years under Crooked Joe Biden, the World has experienced Misery, Destruction, and Death. America is no longer respected because we have an incompetent president who is weak and doesn’t understand what the World is thinking. I am the only one who can bring Peace, Prosperity, and Stability like I did during my first term. America will be respected and feared (if necessary!) again.

When asked whether Trump had a response to reports of Alexey Navalny’s death, the Trump campaign pointed me to this post from Trump that does not even mention Navalny or Putin: pic.twitter.com/AOjgQw7zM3

— Kate Sullivan (@KateSullivanDC) February 16, 2024

Trump has long been criticized over his praise of Putin, which dates back to at least 2013.

On Friday morning, shortly after news of Navalny’s death broke, Trump’s lone remaining opponent in the Republican presidential primary, Nikki Haley, attacked him on these exact grounds.

“Putin did this. The same Putin who Donald Trump praises and defends. The same Trump who said: ‘In all fairness to Putin, you’re saying he killed people. I haven’t seen that,'” wrote Haley in a post on X.

After Sullivan reported on the fact that the social media post constituted Trump’s statement on the matter, the campaign fired back by asserting that it was “pretty clear” that he was referencing Navalny.