White House national security and public affairs adviser John Kirby blasted former President Donald Trump and his running mate, Sen. J.D. Vance (R-Ohio), for claiming that Trump took credit for Thursday’s prisoner exchange between Russia and the United States, which included the release of Paul Whelan and Evan Gershkovich.
“There’s absolutely no evidence that this deal was made out of any underlying fear of who the next president might be,” Kirby told CNN’s Kate Bolduin.
Vance said Thursday that Russian President Vladimir Putin had agreed to the prisoner swap in light of a possible Trump presidency.
“But we have to ask ourselves: Why are they coming home? I think it’s because bad actors around the world realize that Donald Trump is trying to return to the presidency and are cleaning up the country,” Vance said. “I think that’s a good thing and I think it’s a testament to the strength of Donald Trump.”
Kirby pushed back.
“This deal was made because President Biden has an alliance, a partnership and a relationship of trust, particularly with the German chancellor,” Kirby said.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has agreed to the release of Vadim Krasikov, a known Russian assassin who played a key role in Russia approving the deal to release the Americans and a dozen others.
“It took the very strong relationships and trust that the president has built with foreign leaders over the years, and a lot of hard work and tough decisions by very strong leaders in the United States and around the world to bring them home,” he added.
Kirby also responded to Trump’s claim that the releases were a “victory for Putin” because the US had released “some really bad guys”.
“I’ve released 59 different people. 59 people. They’re not paying. They’ve released some really rough people, you know that,” Trump said Friday morning.
Shortly after Biden announced the release, Trump posted to Truth Social pressing for details.
“So when will details of prisoner exchange with Russia be announced? How many prisoners will we get? Will we also pay them cash? Will they give us cash (please drop this question I’m sure the answer is no),” the former president asked in the post.
The United States has not paid or received any money in connection with Thursday’s prisoner exchange.
“The previous administration also conducted prisoner exchanges,” Kirby said in response to Trump’s allegations. “The previous administration also had to make tough decisions to bring Americans home.”
Responding to Trump’s claims about his success in releasing prisoners, Kirby said Biden has ensured the freedom of Americans.
“I don’t dispute President Trump’s figure of 59, but let’s just say that President Biden has brought home over 70 Americans,” he added.
The White House and Biden have denied the allegations made by Vance and other Republican lawmakers, with national security adviser Jake Sullivan saying he “doesn’t understand” them when asked by reporters about Vance’s allegations.
During a speech announcing the releases on Thursday, Biden responded to a reporter’s question about Trump by saying, “Why didn’t you do this when you were president?”
