Days after the death of Russian opposition leader Aleksei A. Navalny was first reported, Donald J. Trump broke his silence in a social media post on Monday that only referred to Mr. Navalny and did not condemn its President of Russia Vladimir V. Putin. Instead, he used Mr. Navalny’s death to suggest that his own legal battles amounted to political prosecution.
It was a note he struck first on Sunday, when he shared screenshots of an opinion piece comparing his relationship with President Biden to that of Mr. Navalny and Mr. Putin.
“Alexei Navalny’s sudden death has made me more and more aware of what is happening in our country,” the former president wrote on Truth Social on Monday, using an alternative spelling of Mr Navalny’s name. He singled out what he called “CROPPED, Radical Leftist politicians, prosecutors and judges who are leading us down a path to destruction.”
But the complex social media post contained no mention of Mr Putin, who has drawn widespread condemnation from politicians in the United States and abroad amid speculation that he or the Russian government played a role in Mr Navalny’s death. . Instead, Mr Trump cited “Open borders, rigged elections and grossly unfair courtroom decisions” describing the US, in all caps, as “a nation in decline, a failing nation”.
Mr. Trump, who has been indicted in four criminal cases and faces 91 felony counts, was ordered Friday to pay about $450 million after a New York judge found in the civil fraud case that he conspired to manipulate his net worth estate. He has repeatedly tried to blame Mr. Biden for his legal problems, although Mr. Biden has no jurisdiction over the cases.
Nikki Haley, Mr Trump’s opponent in the Republican presidential primary and his former ambassador to the United Nations, attacked him for his response.
“Donald Trump could have condemned Vladimir Putin as a murderous thug,” he wrote on Monday. the social networking platform X. “Trump could praise Navalny’s courage. Instead, he stole a page from the liberal playbook, denouncing America and comparing our country to Russia.”
Ms. Haley, a former governor of South Carolina, used Mr. Navalny’s death as a vehicle to criticize Mr. Trump’s earlier statements praising Mr. Putin. He has called Mr Navalny a “hero”, repeated allegations that Mr Putin played a role in his death and said Mr Trump needed to “answer to that”.
The former president has a long history of praising Mr Putin, calling him “pretty smart” even as Russia prepared to invade Ukraine. And it has at times favored the country over traditional US allies, something Ms Haley sought to highlight. 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.
Mr Navalny, who was one of Mr Putin’s staunchest critics, was confirmed 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 US officials did not know the details of Mr. Navalny’s death, he had “no doubt” that “it was the result of something Putin and his thugs did.” .
Until Monday, Mr. Trump had not specifically commented on Mr. Navalny’s death, instead issuing posts that made the world more dangerous during Mr. Biden’s tenure.
