Former US President Donald Trump spoke again about the death of Alexei Navalny on Fox News – and drew bizarre parallels to the Kremlin critic.
At first he remained silent, but now one crude comparison follows the next: Unlike US President Joe Biden, Donald Trump did not react to the death of Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny for a long time. On Monday, he made an absurd comparison on the Truth Social platform he founded: “The sudden death of Alexei Navalny made me more and more aware of what is happening in our country.”
He now upped the ante on the conservative news channel Fox. “Navalny is a very sad situation. He is very brave, he was a very brave guy.” One had to expect that something like this would happen. Navalny should not have returned to Russia, the ex-US President continued.
Donald Trump: “It’s terrible, but it happens in our country too”
In the past, Trump had regularly made positive comments about Putin and also given the impression that he admired the Russian president. After Navalny’s death, he left Putin unmentioned – even when asked by Fox journalist Laura Ingraham. In a conversation with Ingraham, Trump instead draws parallels between the Russian autocracy and the USA: “It’s terrible, but it happens in our country too.” The USA is turning into a “communist country”.
He himself has been accused four times and is involved in eight or nine cases – for “ridiculous things”. “And that’s only because I went into politics,” said Trump. Referring to a trial in which he was sentenced to a $355 million fine in New York last week, Trump said: “It’s like Navalny.” And further: “It is a type of communism, of fascism.”
Fox host Laura Ingraham asked Trump directly: “Do you see yourself as a potential political prisoner in the United States?” The ex-president didn’t give a direct answer, but said: “If I lost in the polls, they wouldn’t talk about me and I wouldn’t have to pay legal fees.”
USA wants to announce sanctions against Russia on Friday
The US plans to announce new sanctions against Russia on Friday as a result of Navalny’s death – “to hold Russia accountable for what happened to Mr Navalny,” US National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said on Tuesday. A few days earlier, President Joe Biden had blamed Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin for Navalny’s death.
Long-time Putin critic Alexey Navalny died suddenly on Friday in a prison camp in the Arctic Circle at the age of 47. Despite international protests, the authorities still refuse to give his relatives access to his body.
The Bundestag wants to discuss the consequences of Navalny’s death in a current hour on Wednesday afternoon.
Sources: FOX News, AFP