Former Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) went after former President Trump for his response to the death of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny on Monday, saying Trump's comments were “'below the dignity of a human being.'”
Navalny died Friday in a Russian penal colony, the country's government announced, in what was widely condemned as a political assassination. Trump first addressed the death on Monday after being called out by Democrats for ignoring the issue.
Trump compared Navalny's death to his own legal circumstances and did not blame Russian President Vladimir Putin, as did President Biden and US allies.
“You wonder, what does Putin have over Donald Trump, he always has to look after him and his dude is nasty?” Pelosi said in an interview on MSNBC's “Inside with Jen Sagi” on Monday.
He said Trump's statement was “below the dignity of a human being.”
“It's so cruel that you think, 'No, somebody must have made this up. Not even Donald Trump could go that far,'” he said. “This statement should disqualify him from running for anything, let alone President of the United States.”
After Friday's news broke, President Biden first commented on Navalny's death, quickly pinning it on Putin and taking the opportunity to call for military aid to Ukraine.
“Make no mistake: Putin is responsible for Navalny's death,” Biden said. “What happened to Navalny is yet more evidence of Putin's brutality. No one should be fooled.”
“We need to provide financing so that Ukraine can defend itself against Putin's brutal attacks and war crimes,” he continued, adding that he was “wondering” whether further sanctions on Russia were possible.
After a bipartisan coalition of senators passed a foreign spending bill earlier this month, aid to Ukraine is deadlocked in the House. House Republican leaders said after the House killed a bipartisan border security bill that it was unlikely to pass physical Ukraine aid without action on the southern border.
“History is watching the House of Representatives,” Biden said Friday. “The failure to support Ukraine at this critical moment will never be forgotten.”
Pelosi went after the House GOP leadership for delaying aid to Ukraine, calling it a “disgrace” that the United States has not yet provided more support against the Russian invasion.
“We'll do this at home,” he said. “It's a shame we haven't done it yet. People die every day because we're not delivering weapons with the power, range, and speed needed to defeat the Russians.
“If something happens in Ukraine — and we have to make sure it doesn't happen based on Russia's success — the people there will know that other countries are next,” he added.
Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media Inc. All rights reserved. This content may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
