Former President Donald Trump in a social media post finally spoke out about the death of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny. But rather than offer any illuminating remarks about the critic of Russian President Vladimir Putin, Trump immediately pivoted into trashing the United States.
"The sudden death of Alexei Navalny has made me more and more aware of what is happening in our Country," Trump wrote. "It is a slow, steady progression, with CROOKED, Radical Left Politicians, Prosecutors, and Judges leading us down a path to destruction. Open Borders, Rigged Elections, and Grossly Unfair Courtroom Decisions are DESTROYING AMERICA. WE ARE A NATION IN DECLINE, A FAILING NATION! MAGA2024."
The reaction marks his first comments since Navalny died in prison Friday. Trump made his post on his Social Truth platform early Monday, on President's Day.
Trump, the front-runner for the 2024 Republican nomination for President, has criticized prosecutors in state and federal courts pursuing legal and civil cases against him on a variety of fronts. A New York Judge just imposed a $364-million penalty against the long-time real estate developer for a yearslong scheme to dupe banks, which included overvaluing his Florida estate in Mar-a-Lago on some financial statements while keeping low estimates on the property for tax purposes.
Of course, that's a somewhat different situation than what faced Navalny, a 47-year-old political leader who was barred by Putin's government from running for President there in 2018. He was later arrested in 2021 while entering the country, months after he was recovering in Germany from a poisoning attempt he blamed on Putin's government.
State media mentioned little about Navalny in the intervening years before announcing Friday that the opposition leader collapsed and died in an Arctic prison.
Trump has faced criticism for his relationship to Putin, though he made no mention of the Russian President in his post about Navalny.
Russia over the weekend began arresting hundreds in attendance at public gatherings mourning Navalny's death, according to The Associated Press.
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