GREENVILLE, South Carolina: Former US president Donald Trump mentioned on Tuesday (Feb 20) that Alexei Navalny was “a really courageous man” who “in all probability” mustn’t have returned to Russia, with out assigning any blame for the Russian opposition leader’s unexpected death.
Democratic President Joe Biden and different Western leaders have blamed Russian President Vladimir Putin for Navalny’s demise, as has Nikki Haley, who trails far behind Trump as his sole remaining rival for the Republican presidential nomination.
“Navalny is a really unhappy scenario, and he’s a really courageous, he was a really courageous man as a result of he went again. He may have stayed away,” Trump mentioned throughout a city corridor interview with Fox Information host Laura Ingraham in South Carolina.
“And, frankly, in all probability would have been so much higher off staying away and speaking from outdoors of the nation versus having to return in, as a result of folks thought that would occur and it did occur. And it is a horrible factor,” he mentioned.
The Kremlin has denied involvement in Navalny’s demise and mentioned that Western claims that Putin was accountable are unacceptable.
Trump – who has expressed admiration for Putin throughout his 2017-2021 White Home tenure and afterward – additionally continued to match himself to Navalny, implying that each males had confronted unjust prosecutions because of their political opinions.
“Nevertheless it’s occurring in our nation too,” he mentioned. “We’re turning right into a communist nation in some ways. And for those who take a look at it – I am the main candidate. I get indicted.”
