Sentenced last Friday to a $355 million fine for financial fraud, Donald Trump did not hesitate on Tuesday February 20 to compare his fate to that of Russian opponent Alexeï Navalny, who died in prison last week.
“It’s a form of Navalny.
“It’s a form of communism or fascism
,” he said during a public meeting in South Carolina.
The judge who sentenced [me] is
“a crazy person
,” he added.
“This guy decided I was guilty before the trial started.”
The former president of the United States was found guilty of committing financial fraud by colossally inflating the value of his real estate empire in order to obtain more favorable financing from banks.
Relaunched by a Fox News journalist, Donald Trump did not mention or condemn Vladimir Putin, suspected of being behind the death of his main opponent.
He simply hailed Alexeï Navalny as a
“very courageous man”
, who
“probably would have done better to stay away and speak from outside the country”
, instead of voluntarily returning to Russia.
“This is also happening in our country
,” he warned.
“We are becoming a communist country in many ways.”
“I have eight or nine trials under my belt because of the fact that (...) I am in politics
,” estimated the man who has 91 charges.
These comments come after the initial controversy caused by the silence of the Republican in the face of the death of Navalny, who died Friday in a Russian penitentiary.
His death caused a wave of indignation in Western countries and American President Joe Biden judged on Friday that Putin was responsible.
But Donald Trump did not immediately react and was attacked by his rival for the Republican nomination, Nikki Haley.
“The fact that he doesn't say anything about Navalny
(shows)
that either he sides with Putin and thinks it's okay for him to kill his political opponents, or he just doesn't think it's okay an important matter
,” she said on Sunday.