Why did Trump congratulate Putin? Former president praises 'another great deal'
Former President Donald Trump at an Atlanta rally on Saturday congratulated Russian President Vladimir Putin on "another great deal" following the largest prisoner exchange between the U.S. and Moscow since the Cold War.
The six-nation deal brought home 24 imprisoned abroad including 16 previously detained in Russia, in exchange for eight Russian prisoners held in the U.S., Germany, Norway, Slovenia and Poland. In an address Thursday, President Joe Biden called the agreement "a feat of diplomacy," thanking the nations involved and Turkey, which provided logistical support for the swap.
Trump, the Republican presidential nominee, hit the deal during a rally on Saturday. He told a crowd of supporters that the agreement led to the release of "some of the greatest killers” in the world. Vadim Krasikov, released from Germany, was convicted of a 2019 murder of a former Chechen militant in a Berlin park.
“I’d like to congratulate Vladimir Putin for having made yet another great deal," Trump said Saturday. “We got our people back, but boy we make some horrible, horrible deals. It’s nice to say we got ’em back, but does that set a bad precedent?"
Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich was among the high-profile Americans returned in the swap. Earlier this year, Trump said Putin would agree to release Gershkovich "for me, but not for anyone else."
The former president has repeatedly said that he could have brought the hostages home without giving Russia anything in exchange. When Biden was asked to respond to Trump's claims Thursday, he responded with a grin, "Why didn't he do it when he was president?"
Trump also directly congratulated Putin when he claimed victory in Russia's 2018 presidential election. The timing of their phone call drew criticism as the Kremlin had just been accused of launching a poison-gas assassination attempt on British soil and was facing sanctions from the White House in response to Russian interference in U.S. elections.
“An American president does not lead the free world by congratulating dictators on winning sham elections," Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., said in a statement at the time.
During his Atlanta rally, Trump also attacked Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp, criticizing the Republican for not helping his efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election in the Peach State.
"He’s a bad guy," Trump said. "He’s a disloyal guy and he’s a very average governor."
He also attacked Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, another Republican who resisted Trump's efforts to overturn his 2020 loss, adding that in his opinion, “they want us to lose."
Trump's criticism of the Republican leaders is notable as Georgia is one of few battleground states that are likely to decide the outcome of the presidential election in November.
Rachel Barber is a 2024 election fellow at Paste BN, focusing on politics and education. Follow her on X, formerly Twitter, at @rachelbarber_