Former US President Donald Trump has slammed Joe Biden for swapping US women’s NBA star Brittney Griner for Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout in a deal brokered by Saudi Arabia.
Reacting, Trump wrote in a post on his social media website Truth Social: ‘What kind of a deal is it to swap Brittney Griner, a basketball player who openly hates our country for the man known as “The Merchant of Death”.’
‘What a stupid and unpatriotic embarrassment for the USA!’ Trump added.
Whelan is a former Marine with citizenship in four nations, including the U.S., who was arrested in Russia in 2018 on espionage charges and convicted in 2020, receiving a 16-year prison sentence.
But the renowned ‘Merchant of Death’ was serving a 25-year sentence for conspiring to kill Americans.
Meanwhile, Whelan is a former Marine with citizenship in four nations, including the U.S., who was arrested in Russia in 2018 on espionage charges and convicted in 2020, receiving a 16-year prison sentence.
The swap deal between the two nations is leading many critics of president Biden’s administration to say Russia got the better end of the trade.