Trump compares himself to Navalny and says judicial attack against him is “a form of communism or fascism” | International

The death of Alexei Navalny has been used by Donald Trump as an excuse to play the martyr, comparing the Russian dissident’s death in prison to his judicial ordeal and the political persecution his democratic rivals claim to have been subject to. As he did a day ago in a publication on his social network, Truth Social, in which he alluded to the death of the dissident, the best-placed Republican candidate in his party’s primaries, without a single hint to the Kremlin.. .

Alexei Navalny’s death has been used by Donald Trump as an excuse to play the martyr, comparing the Russian dissident’s death in prison to his judicial ordeal and the political persecution he claims his Democratic rivals are subject to. As he did the day before in a publication on his social network, Truth Social, in which he alluded to the death of the dissident without a single hint to the Kremlin, the Republican candidate who ranks best in his party’s priorities has taken advantage of it. The City Council of Greenville (South Carolina) met with constituents this Tuesday to reiterate their contention that the four criminal charges against them, in addition to several civil suits, are the result of an attempt by President Joe’s administration to derail their candidacy. Biden.

The question-and-answer session, a very common format in the campaign, has been moderated, recorded and later broadcast in prime time on Fox News, the conservative network that serves as a loudspeaker for Republicans. During the meeting, Trump, who was sentenced by a New York judge on Friday to pay $355 million for corporate fraud, lamented Navalny’s death, which President Biden and other Western leaders attributed to the regime of Russian President Vladimir Putin. Even some Republicans from the old guard, the majority in the party before being colonized by Trump, blamed the Kremlin for the opposition’s disappearance.

“Naval’s a very sad situation and he’s very brave, he was a very brave man,” Trump said in response to a question from a Fox reporter. “He returned to Russia (after recovering from the poisoning attempt in Berlin in 2021). novichok), “He could have stayed out, and the truth is, it was better to stay out and speak rather than go back to the country, because people thought that (he would die), and he did.”

“And it’s a horrible thing, but it’s happening in our country,” Trump declared, suggesting that his impeachment — two of them to try to reverse his election loss in 2020 — was evidence that the United States was “becoming communist. . country in many ways.” “They have accused me four times (…) that I am in politics (…) they have accused me of things that are very ridiculous…”, he complained. The other two charges are for paying bribes to a porn film actress to prevent his relationship, if revealed, from affecting his campaign in 2016 and for retaining classified documents he improperly took from the White House when he left the presidency. .

But what hurts Trump the most right now is the substantial fine imposed on him Friday by Judge Arthur Angoro for being responsible for corporate fraud in order to inflate the value of his properties to obtain beneficial credits: $355 million, which he once added. The interest goes up to 450 and leaves him practically without liquidity (he has to pay the deposit within 30 days, requiring an appeal against the judgment). “He’s a form of Navalny,” Trump said with his usual distaste for Faulkner’s language. “It’s a form of communism, fascism.”

Trump made no reference to Putin on Tuesday, after scandalizing key European partners in NATO and the United States, who don’t pay their contributions to the alliance, will let Putin do what he wants with that ally, but that’s a novelty: During his presidency, he The Kremlin strongman was more appreciative than critical. However, the context is different: Ukraine has just suffered a significant setback, the loss of the city of Andivka, which has passed under Russian control, while promised aid to Kiev is hanging by a thread in the House of Representatives due to protests. Republicans. He mentioned Putin last week, when he said he took as a compliment a statement from him that said he preferred Biden to the White House because he was more predictable than Trump. Both Biden and Trump will likely compete for the presidency — that is, re-election — in November. Even if the Republican is convicted in one of the pending trials — the first begins March 25 in New York — that won’t stop him from running for office.

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Asked whether his victimization made him a potential political prisoner like Navalny — another question served up on a plate by the Fox moderator — the Republican candidate declined to answer. “If I had lost the election, they wouldn’t even be talking about me and I wouldn’t have legal fees,” he replied. His campaign allocated $50 million for this last year. “If he was out, I think — even though they hate me so much, I think if he’s out (of the race) they’re going to continue (to attack him), ‘Let’s go after this guy, we Can’t stand this guy. .'”

The debate comes four days before Trump competes against Nikki Haley in the South Carolina Republican presidential primary. The Fox journalist opened the session by offering an opportunity to explain or clarify the only reference he has made so far to Navalny’s death, the above post he published this Monday in Truth Social. Without mentioning Putin or the Russian dissident’s family, Trump wrote: “Alexei Navalny’s sudden death has made me more aware of what is happening in our country,” he wrote, before attacking “politicians, prosecutors and radical left-wing judges. We leads to destruction” and repeat their false claims that US elections are rigged.

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