Former President Donald Trump praised Russian President Vladimir Putin on Saturday, just days after the massive prisoner exchange between the US, Russia and other Western countries.
“By the way, I would like to congratulate Vladimir Putin for making another great deal. Did you see the deal we made? the Republican candidate said at a campaign rally in Atlanta.
In the historic prisoner swap – the largest exchange between the US and Russia since the Cold War – sixteen people, including Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, were released from Russian custody.
It has been described as a enormous to win for President Joe Biden’s administration in the days that followed.
Trump, who has previously shown love for Putin and once claimed that the Russian leader would not release Gershkovich ‘for someone other’ than himmade no mention of Americans returning home as part of the deal at his meeting in Atlanta.
“Look, we want to bring people in. You know we have 59 hostages, I never paid anything,” Trump said wrongly claimed that he gave “Nothing‘to secure the return of American prisoners in exchanges under his administration.
He continued: “They have released some of the biggest killers in the world. Some of the most evil killers they have. And we have our people back, but boy, we’re making some terrible, terrible deals. And it’s nice to say we have them back, but does that set a bad precedent?”
Multiple Republicans have criticized the deal under Biden, while Trump called it a “victory for Putin,” telling Fox Business host Maria Bartiromo that Gershkovich would “never” have been taken into custody if he were president.
Trump’s running mate Senator JD Vance (R-Ohio) took advantage of the prisoner swap give the former president a boost and claimed that Americans were coming home because “bad guys” recognize he’s “about to get back to work.”
“So they’re in the middle of a settlement,” Vance told CNN last week. “That’s a good thing, and I think it’s a testament to the power of Donald Trump.”
White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby, in response to Vance’s comments, told the network that there is “absolutely zero evidence” that the deal was made out of fear of who the next president would be.
“This deal happened because the president did. President Biden had alliances and partnerships and trust that he could build on,” Kirby said in an appearance on “CNN News Central.”