Trump breaks silence on Navalny's death, but does not condemn Putin
Days after the death of Russian opposition leader Alexei A. Navalny was first reported, Donald J. Trump broke his silence on Monday in a social media post that barely mentioned Mr. Navalny and did not mention President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia convicted. Instead, he used Navalny's death to suggest that his own legal battle amounted to political persecution.
It was a comment he first made on Sunday, when he shared screenshots of an op-ed essay comparing his relationship with President Biden to that between Mr Navalny and Mr Putin.
“The sudden death of Alexei Navalny has made me increasingly aware of what is happening in our country,” the former president wrote on Truth Social on Monday, using an alternate spelling of Mr. Navalny's first name. He pointed to what he called “COOKED, radical left politicians, prosecutors and judges who are leading us down a path to destruction.”
But the rambling social media post made no reference to Mr. Putin, who has drawn widespread condemnation from politicians in the United States and abroad amid speculation that he or the Russian government had a hand in Mr. Navalny's death . Instead, Trump cited “open borders, rigged elections and deeply unfair court decisions,” labeling the US in all capital letters as a “nation in decline, a failing nation.”
Trump, who has been charged in four criminal cases and faces 91 felonies, was ordered to pay about $450 million on Friday after a New York judge found in his civil fraud case that he had conspired to manipulate his assets. He has repeatedly tried to blame Mr. Biden for his legal troubles, even though Mr. Biden has no say in the cases.
Nikki Haley, Trump's rival in the Republican presidential primaries and his former ambassador to the United Nations, attacked him for his response.
“Donald Trump could have condemned Vladimir Putin for being a murderous criminal,” she wrote on Monday the social media platform X. “Trump could have praised Navalny's courage. Instead, he stole a page from the liberals' playbook, denouncing America and comparing our country to Russia.”
Ms. Haley, the former governor of South Carolina, has used Mr. Navalny's death as a vehicle to criticize Mr. Trump's past comments praising Mr. Putin. She has called Mr. Navalny a “hero,” repeated claims that Mr. Putin had a hand in his death and said Mr. Trump “had to answer that.”
The former president has a long history of complimenting Mr Putin, calling him “pretty smart” even as Russia prepared to invade Ukraine. And he has sometimes favored the country over traditional American allies, which Ms. Haley has tried to emphasize. Shortly before Mr. Navalny died, Mr. Trump told voters in South Carolina that he would “encourage” Russia to attack NATO allies who failed to pay what they owed to the security alliance.
Navalny, one of Putin's most outspoken critics, was declared dead by his political allies on Saturday after Russian officials said on Friday he had died in a prison inside the Arctic Circle. Mr. Biden, speaking to the News on Friday, said that while U.S. officials did not know the details surrounding Mr. Navalny's death, he had “no doubt” that it was “a consequence of something that Putin and his thugs did.” .
Until Monday, Mr. Trump had not responded explicitly to Mr. Navalny's death, instead posting messages that cast the world as more dangerous during Mr. Biden's time in office.