Former detainee in Russia says Trump 'chose not to' free him from captivity
Donald Trump announced he could essentially wave a POTUS wand and bring back Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich from Russian captivity.
That was met with misbelief.
"As a former wrongful detainee in Russia, I would just like to remind everyone that President Trump had the ability to get myself and Paul Whelan out of Russia for years and chose not to," reads a post on Twitter/X by U.S. Marine Corps veteran Trevor Reed, who was detained in Russia for attacking police.
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"I would be skeptical of any claims about getting Evan Gershkovich back in a day."
Reed was sprung in a prisoner exchange for Russian citizen Konstantin Yaroshenko back in 2022 under President Joe Biden's presidency after being held in Russia since 2019.
Trump prognosticated that he could single-handedly bring Gershkovich back to the U.S. without much effort, but only if he's voted into office.
"Evan Gershkovich, the Reporter from The Wall Street Journal, who is being held by Russia, will be released almost immediately after the Election, but definitely before I assume Office," reads his Truth Social post. "He will be HOME, SAFE, AND WITH HIS FAMILY. Vladimir Putin, President of Russia, will do that for me, but not for anyone else, and WE WILL BE PAYING NOTHING!"
The Kremlin responded to the bold claim by Trump that there is zero coordination with Putin or Russia.
"Here, Putin has naturally not had contacts with Donald Trump," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.
Former national security adviser under the Trump administration Robert O’Brien appeared on CNN's "The Source" and was asked about the former president's quick fix to bring Gershkovich back home.
And he took the chance to hammer the Biden administration's stance against Russia.
"The Biden administration is basically sending hashtags saying #FreeEvan," he said. "Well, Putin's a tough guy, he's a thug, and he's not going to respond to the Twitter hashtag or Twitter campaign — he's gonna respond to real hard American hard power... I think President Trump understands that."
O'Brien praised Trump's diplomatic stripes.
"That's how we got so many people out of Russia. We got people out Iran, we got people out of Turkey we've got people out of Yemen and across Venezuela under the Trump administration when I was supposed hostage envoy, and national security adviser, because President Trump was willing to use all the tools of American power, including hard power, to get our people home."
For his part, Biden vowed on the one-year anniversary that he "would never give up" achieve the mission to for the safe return of Gershkovich.