Former US President Donald Trump’s recent remarks at NATO, according to Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley, were both “bone-chilling” and empowering for Russian President Vladimir Putin.
“When you hear Donald Trump say in South Carolina a week ago that he would encourage Putin to invade our allies if they weren’t pulling their weight, that’s bone-chilling because all he did in that one moment was empower Putin,” Haley said Sunday.
On February 10, Trump stated that if reelected, he would encourage Russia to do “whatever the hell they want” to any NATO member country that does not meet defense spending guidelines, implying that he would not abide by the alliance’s collective-defense clause.
Help support the Tampa Free Press by making any small donation by clicking here.
“NATO was busted until I came along,” Trump said in Conway, South Carolina. “I said, ‘Everybody’s gonna pay.’ They said, ‘Well, if we don’t pay, are you still going to protect us?’ I said, ‘Absolutely not.’ They couldn’t believe the answer.”
Haley’s remarks came after the death of Russian opposition leader and outspoken Kremlin critic Alexey Navalny while in prison on Friday.
The cause of his reported death was unknown, but the news sparked a strong reaction from Western leaders, including President Joe Biden, who blamed Putin, saying that “what has happened to Navalny is yet more proof of Putin’s brutality.”
Navalny’s spokesperson confirmed on Saturday that the 47-year-old opposition leader’s death. The spokesperson stated that Navalny was “murdered.”
On Monday, Trump commented on Navalny’s death directly via Truth Social.
“The sudden death of Alexei Navalny has made me more and more aware of what is happening in our Country. 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,” said Trump.
Nikki Haley continued to mock Trump’s attitude toward Russian President Vladimir Putin on Sunday.
“Every time he was in the same room with him, he got weak in the knees,” Haley told a Fox News town hall in South Carolina. “We can’t have a president that gets weak in the knees with Putin. We have to have a president that’s going to be strong with Putin in every sense of the word.”
Trump shot back at Haley on Truth Social Sunday, “When will stupid people like Nikki Haley confess to knowing that the Indictments and Litigation that I am fighting is all DEMOCRAT and Crooked Joe Biden INSPIRED, COORDINATED, & RUN! They have done a terrible job, and there is nothing else that they can do to save their “sinking ship.” It is illegal Election Interference, and if I weren’t running, or leading so big, none of this would be happening. If Birdbrain were ever in my position, which she won’t be, she would be hit just as hard, and not be able to fight back. The only money she is getting now is coming from Democrats. I know her well, and she just doesn’t have what it takes, and never will. MAGA! P.S. She’s losing to Biden in almost every poll. I am winning in EVERY poll!”
Help support the Tampa Free Press by making any small donation by clicking here.
Android Users, Click To Download The Tampa Free Press App And Never Miss A Story. Follow Us On Facebook and Twitter. Sign up for our free newsletter.