Trump breaks silence on Navalny, casts no blame on Putin
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[February 20, 2024]
By Doina Chiacu
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Donald Trump, who drew criticism as U.S. president
for his praise of Russian leader Vladimir Putin, on Monday made his
first public comment on the death of Russian opposition leader Alexei
Navalny in a social media post that cast no blame but alluded to his own
legal woes.
"The sudden death of Alexei Navalny has made me more and more aware of
what is happening in our Country," the frontrunner for the Republican
presidential nomination wrote on his Truth Social platform, appearing to
link the death to his own political troubles.
"It is 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
Courtroom Decisions are DESTROYING AMERICA. WE ARE A NATION IN DECLINE,
A FAILING NATION! MAGA2024"
It was not clear what similarities Trump was trying to draw with
Russia's most prominent opposition leader. Navalny, 47, fought for years
against what he called vast corruption in Putin's Russia, ruled by
"crooks and thieves."
The Trump campaign did not immediately respond to a request for
clarification.
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Trump has railed against a judge's order on Friday that he pay $355
million in penalties for overstating his net worth to dupe lenders, a
decision he called politically motivated. Trump also is preparing for
four upcoming criminal trials as he pursues the Republican nomination.
President Joe Biden on Friday directly blamed Putin for Navalny's death
in a penal colony north of the Arctic Circle, as did Trump's main
Republican rival, Nikki Haley. "Putin is responsible for Navalny's
death," Biden said.
The Kremlin has denied involvement in his death and said that Western
claims that Putin was responsible were unacceptable.
Since Navalny's death was reported on Friday, former U.S. presidents and
top members of Congress from both parties also denounced Putin.
But Trump, the Republican candidate leading the race to challenge Biden
in the November election, remained silent until Monday.
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Former U.S. President Donald Trump looks on at a campaign event in
Waterford Township, Michigan, U.S., February 17, 2024.
REUTERS/Rebecca Cook
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During his 2017-2021 White House tenure, Trump expressed admiration
for Putin. In 2018, he refused to blame the Russian leader for
meddling in the 2016 U.S. election, casting doubt on the findings of
his own intelligence agencies and sparking criticism at home.
Last week, he suggested the United States might not protect NATO
allies who do not spend enough on defense from a potential Russian
invasion.
Haley, the former South Carolina governor who will face Trump as an
underdog in her home state's presidential primary on Saturday,
called Trump's response on Monday unpatriotic.
"Donald Trump could have condemned Vladimir Putin for being a
murderous thug. Trump could have praised Navalny’s courage," she
wrote on X. Instead, she said, he denounced America and compared it
to Russia.
Campaigning in Sumter, South Carolina, later on Monday, Haley
criticized Trump again over his NATO comments, saying, "He sided
with a dictator who kills his political opponents."
Republican former U.S. Representative Liz Cheney, a vice chair of
the congressional panel that investigated the Jan. 6, 2021, storming
of the Capitol by Trump supporters, recalled Trump's frequent
promise to seek "retribution" against political opponents if he
regains power.
"What Vladimir Putin did to Navalny is what retribution looks like
in a country where the leader is not subject to the rule of law,"
Cheney said on Sunday.
(Reporting by Doina Chiacu in Washington, additional reporting by
Nathan Layne in South Carolina; Editing by Scott Malone, Nick Macfie,
Lisa Shumaker and Cynthia Osterman)
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