Back in 2022, the Joe Biden administration pulled off a prisoner swap that ultimately freed WNBA superstar Brittney Griner after 10 she spent months falsely imprisoned in Russia. While most Americans celebrated the return of Griner, Donald Trump was clearly not a fan of the trade that ultimately brought her home.
During an interview with YouTuber Logan Paul on his “Impaulsive” podcast earlier this month, Donald Trump blasted Joe Biden and his administration for the decision to trade convicted Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout in return for the freedom of Brittney Griner, calling it “not exactly the greatest trade” and saying “they don’t know what they’re doing.”
Trump called Bout a “great arms dealer” and complained that he was traded for “the basketball player who wouldn’t stand up for the national anthem. She thought that was a good time to tie her sneakers. And that was not exactly the greatest trade. But he gave 6 billion dollars on top of it. Six billion, billion with a B, and they don’t know what they’re doing.”
It’s not clear what Trump would have done instead if he were president instead of Biden, but he has made it pretty clear that he would not have traded Bout to secure Griner’s return to the United States.
