GREENVILLE: Donald Trump doubled down on comparing his criminal indictments to the circumstances of Russian dissident Alexei Navalny, the top political opponent of Russia’s autocratic leader Vladimir Putin who died in a remote arctic prison after being jailed by the Kremlin leader.
Appearing on a Fox News Channel town hall pre-taped before a live audience in South Carolina, Trump bemoaned Navalny’s death, which President Joe Biden has blamed on Putin.Trump then pivoted to himself, repeating his assertions that the prosecutions against him are driven by politics despite no evidence that Biden or White House ordered them. “Navalny is a very sad situation and he’s very brave, he was a brave guy,” Trump said.
“He went back, he could have stayed away, and frankly probably would have been a lot better off… It’s a horrible thing, but it’s happening in our country, too,” he continued, suggesting his criminal indictments – which include two cases stemming from his efforts to overturn his 2020 defeat – are proof that the US is “turning into a communist country in many ways.” “I got indicted four times … all because of the fact that I’m in politics,” he said. “They indicted me on things that are so ridiculous.”
He extended the comparison to his loss in a civil fraud trial last week, in which a New York judge ordered Trump to pay $355 million in penalties after finding he lied about his wealth for years. “It is a form of Navalny,” he said. “It is a form of communism, of fascism.” Trump made no mention of Putin, part of his longstanding pattern of refusing to denounce and often complimenting the Russian leader.
The host interrupted Trump to ask whether he believed he could become a “potential political prisoner” like Navalny. Trump sidestepped the question. “If I were losing in the polls, they wouldn’t even be talking about me and I wouldn’t have had any legal fees.”
Appearing on a Fox News Channel town hall pre-taped before a live audience in South Carolina, Trump bemoaned Navalny’s death, which President Joe Biden has blamed on Putin.Trump then pivoted to himself, repeating his assertions that the prosecutions against him are driven by politics despite no evidence that Biden or White House ordered them. “Navalny is a very sad situation and he’s very brave, he was a brave guy,” Trump said.
“He went back, he could have stayed away, and frankly probably would have been a lot better off… It’s a horrible thing, but it’s happening in our country, too,” he continued, suggesting his criminal indictments – which include two cases stemming from his efforts to overturn his 2020 defeat – are proof that the US is “turning into a communist country in many ways.” “I got indicted four times … all because of the fact that I’m in politics,” he said. “They indicted me on things that are so ridiculous.”
He extended the comparison to his loss in a civil fraud trial last week, in which a New York judge ordered Trump to pay $355 million in penalties after finding he lied about his wealth for years. “It is a form of Navalny,” he said. “It is a form of communism, of fascism.” Trump made no mention of Putin, part of his longstanding pattern of refusing to denounce and often complimenting the Russian leader.
The host interrupted Trump to ask whether he believed he could become a “potential political prisoner” like Navalny. Trump sidestepped the question. “If I were losing in the polls, they wouldn’t even be talking about me and I wouldn’t have had any legal fees.”