In a town hall organised by Fox News, former US president Donald Trump has compared his legal troubles to that of the deceased Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, who died in prison last week.
Trump said that Navalny was “a very brave man” who probably should not have returned to Russia.
“He was a very brave guy because he went back. He could have stayed away, and frankly, probably would have been a lot better off staying away and talking from outside of the country,” Trump added.
US President Joe Biden, western allies and even Republican challenger to Trump, Nikki Haley have put the blame on Russian President Vladimir Putin for Navalny’s death, but Trump has chosen to remain silent on the issue.
In the hour-long interview, Trump reacted angrily to the $355 million fine imposed on him and said “it was a form of Navalny. It is a form of communism or fascism.”
The Kremlin has denied any involvement in the death and have said that western claims about Putin being behind the murder as “unacceptable.”
On February 18, Trump wrote in a Truth Social post that Navalny’s death in an Arctic penal colony last week had made him “more aware of what is happening” in the United States. Biden reacted angrily to Trump’s comments saying “Why does Trump always blame America? Putin is responsible for Navalny’s death. Why can’t Trump just say that?”
In the town hall, Trump praised Russia’s military for its prowess.
“You’re really up against the war machine in Russia,” Trump said. “Russia, what did they do? They defeated Hitler, they defeated Napoleon. Yeah, they’re a war machine.”
Trump in his election campaign has repeatedly said that he is against providing more military aid to Ukraine, and has promised to end the war if elected president.
Trump added that the invasion would not have happened had he been the president and that he would push for European leaders to provide aid to the war-torn country.
