Trump, yet again, equates his indictmentss to Navalny's imprisonment & death

Donald Trump doubled down on comparing his criminal indictments to the circumstances of Russian dissident Alexei Navalny the top political opponent of Russias autocratic leader Vladimir Putin who died in a remote arctic prison after being jailed by the Kremlin leaderAppearing on a Fox News Channel town hall pretaped before a live audience in Greenville South Carolina Trump bemoaned Navalnys death which President Joe Biden and other Western leaders have blamed on PutinTrump then pivoted to himself repeating his assertions that the prosecutions against him are driven by politics despite no evidence that Biden or the White House ordered themNavalny is a very sad situation and hes very brave he was a very brave guy Trump said in response to a question from Fox News Channels Laura IngrahamHe went back he could have stayed away and frankly probably would have been a lot better off staying away and talking from outside of the country as opposed to having to go back in because people thought that could happen and it did happenAnd its a horrible thing but its happening in our country too Trump continued suggesting his criminal indictments which include two cases stemming from his efforts to overturn his 2020 defeat are proof that the US is turning into a communist country in many waysI got indicted four times all because of the fact that Im in politics Trump said They indicted me on things that are so ridiculousHe extended the comparison to his loss in a civil fraud trial last week in which a New York judge ordered Trump to pay USD 355 million in penalties after finding he lied about his wealth for years With interest Trump owes the state about USD 454 million It is a form of Navalny Trump said It is a form of communism of fascismHe did not give a clear answer when asked whether he would post a bond covering the judgment which is one way hed be able to avoid having to pay the full amount while he appealsTrump made no mention of Putin part of his longstanding pattern of refusing to denounce and often complimenting the Russian leader going back to when he was in the White House But his remarks come as House Republicans have refused to provide more funding to Ukraine in its defense against Russias invasion and as many in the Republican Party grow more accepting of Russian expansionismPutin recently suggested he preferred Biden in the White House to Trump US intelligence assessments of both the 2016 and 2020 elections found that Russia was behind influence operations to boost Trump at the expense of his Democratic Party opponentsIngraham interrupted Trump at the town hall Tuesday to ask whether he believed he could become a potential political prisoner for the rest of his life like Navalny Trump sidestepped the questionIf I were losing in the polls they wouldnt even be talking about me and I wouldnt have had any legal fees he answeredIf I were out I think although they hate me so much I think if I got out theyd still lets pursue this guy we cant stand this guyThe Fox town hall recorded Tuesday afternoon and broadcast during Ingrahams primetime hour on the network marked Trumps first extended remarks about Navalny since Russian officials announced his death The town hall came four days before Trump competes against Nikki Haley in South Carolinas Republican presidential primaryIngraham began the discussion by offering Trump who has praised Putin for years as a strong leader a chance to clarify his only previous public reference to Navalnys demise In a social media post 72 hours after Russian officials confirmed Navalny had died Trump broke his silence without mentioning Putin or Navalnys familyThe sudden death of Alexei Navalny has made me more and more aware of what is happening in our Country he wrote before blasting CROOKED Radical Left Politicians Prosecutors and Judges leading us down a path to destruction and repeating his false claims that US elections are riddled with fraudThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever