WASHINGTON — US President Joe Biden on Tuesday criticized his Republican counterpart, Donald Trump, for his response to the death of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, questioning, “Why does Trump consistently blame America?”
Following Navalny’s reported death on Friday, Biden directly held Russian leader Vladimir Putin responsible, a stance echoed by Trump’s primary rival for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, Nikki Haley.
Trump’s mention of Navalny came only in a Monday post on his Truth Social platform, which neither attributed blame nor expressed remorse. Instead, Trump referenced his own legal challenges as persecution and described the United States as a nation in decline.
“The former president, Trump, along with other Republicans, fail to hold Putin accountable for Navalny’s death,” Biden asserted. “Instead of acknowledging Putin’s responsibility, Trump remarked that Navalny’s death made him realize the alleged decline of America.
“He stated, and I quote, ‘We are a nation in decline, a failing nation.’ Why does Trump consistently blame America? Putin bears responsibility for Navalny’s death. Why can’t Trump simply acknowledge that?”
Earlier on Tuesday, Biden announced that the United States will unveil a significant package of sanctions against Russia on Friday in response to Navalny’s death.
Trump, the leading candidate for the Republican Party, is expected to compete against Democrat Biden in a rematch in the upcoming November presidential election.
In a Fox News interview on Tuesday, Trump commended Navalny as “very brave” for returning to Russia in 2021 from Germany, where he received treatment for exposure to a Russian nerve agent, as indicated by Western laboratory tests.
However, Trump also questioned Navalny’s decision.
“He probably would have been much better off staying abroad and speaking out from there, rather than returning, because there were concerns about his safety, and unfortunately, those concerns proved to be valid,” Trump remarked.
During his tenure in the White House from 2017 to 2021, Trump faced criticism for his praise of Putin. Last week, he suggested that the United States might not defend NATO allies who fail to meet their defense spending commitments against a potential Russian invasion.
Biden deemed Trump’s NATO comments as perilous on Tuesday. “They only serve to embolden bad behavior,” Biden remarked.
In a Twitter video, Biden incorporated this criticism while urging Republican lawmakers, who hold the majority in the House of Representatives, to approve emergency security aid for Ukraine in its conflict against Russia.
“We must stand up to Putin,” Biden asserted.
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