Horrible Donald Trump detail revealed in Brittney Griner decision

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

On Thursday morning, the world got some huge news as WNBA star Brittney Griner was finally released from a Russian penal colony after nearly 10 months in Russian custody. The United States secured Griner’s release with a prisoner swap that sent Griner home in return for convicted Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout, who was sent back to Russia. It was a huge move, but not everyone agreed with the decision, including former United States president Donald Trump, who absolutely blasted the trade.

n a post on his conservative social media website Truth Social, Donald Trump absolutely blasted Brittney Griner as well as Joe Biden‘s decision to have her released. Trump claimed that Griner “openly hates our Country” and that the trade was “a ‘stupid’ and unpatriotic embarrassment” for the country, suggesting that the United States should have secured the release of former United States marine Paul Whelan instead.

With these comments, however, Donald Trump exposed himself as a bit of a hypocrite, according to Andrew Feinberg of The Independent. Paul Whelan was imprisoned during Trump’s presidency, and Trump did nothing to secure his release, not even mentioning his name.

“Mr. Trump did not mention Mr. Whelan’s name a single time during the two years he was held in Russia on his watch, nor did he bring up the former US Marine during a 2019 meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin,” Feinberg wrote.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/nba/horrible-donald-trump-detail-revealed-in-brittney-griner-decision/ar-AA156gWt

[central scrutinizer]

1. He used his awesome brain to mentally free him

Just like mentally declassifying nuclear secrets. We mere mortals are incapable of recognizing his omnipotence.

[W_HAMILTON]

2. Oh, it was much worse than that.

Reporting on the Trump administration's actions in regards to Whelan, from September 2020:

...

For all their uncertainty about the exact origins of the case, U.S. officials understood perfectly how the Kremlin wanted it resolved. Russia’s Ambassador to the U.S., Anatoly Antonov, was “unbelievably explicit” in meetings with White House officials, according to the former U.S. official. Initially, Antonov proposed trading Whelan for three Russians in U.S. prisons: Maria Butina, a woman who had grown close to Republican operatives and National Rifle Association officials, and was convicted of acting as an unregistered Russian agent, in April, 2019; Viktor Bout, a notoriously prolific arms trader who was apprehended in a sting operation in Thailand, in 2008, and convicted by a U.S. court three years later; and Konstantin Yaroshenko, a pilot serving a twenty-year federal sentence for a drug-smuggling plot.

In response, White House officials said that Butina’s case would be resolved in accordance with her eighteen-month sentence; in October, 2019, she was released from U.S. prison and returned to Russia. Freeing Bout, the arms dealer, was considered out of the question. As one U.S. official familiar with the case put it, “It’s like if a major-league team signed me up out of the blue and then tried to trade me for the best player in baseball—we’re not equivalents.”

Antonov kept pushing for Yaroshenko, the pilot convicted of the drug-trafficking plot. He argued that Yaroshenko’s health was deteriorating and cited Whelan’s own problems with an untreated hernia that was causing him great pain. At one meeting, the former U.S. official said, Antonov got “a bit snippy” making his pitch. As the official remembers, Antonov said, “I see your poor guy with a hernia, and here’s our guy with his teeth falling out.” Antonov suggested both Whelan and Yaroshenko could be freed under the guise of a reciprocal medical release.

However Whelan was to be freed, it was clear that any deal would require attention at the highest levels of the White House and the State Department. But that was not forthcoming. Shortly after Whelan was arrested, then national-security adviser John Bolton brought his case to Trump’s attention. “Trump clearly had no interest in doing anything,” a former senior U.S. official said.

Taken from: https://www.newyorker.com/news/dispatch/the-american-prisoner-in-russia-trapped-between-putin-trump-and-thoroughly-soured-us-russian-relations

So, not only did Trump not do those things mentioned in your article, he also didn't give a damn about Whelan and his administration actually refused a proposed Russian prisoner swap that would have brought Whelan home. It should be noted that the three prisoners in the proposed swap, the Biden administration swapped two of them for other imprisoned Americans (Reed and now Griner) and the third simply was released by the Trump administration and deported ... back to Russia.

[paleotn]

4. Of course Trump didn't help Whelan.

There was nothing in it for him.

[rubbersole]

5. Bigly

[ShazzieB]

7. EXACTLY!

I said the same thing in another thread on DU, albeit much less succinctly.

[calimary]

19. Yep. Nailed it.

We see through you, donald.

As though you were a cheap pane of glass or a length of Saran Wrap.

[Kath2]

6. Typical Trump.

Fake patriotism and hate for a black lesbian who speaks her mind.

[Evolve Dammit]

8. Yes, I believe that sums it up perfectly!

[gratuitous]

9. "A bit of a hypocrite"

Naw, rilly?

[multigraincracker]

10. google what trump has said,

many times about soldiers that have fought and died. He calls them losers.

[SomedayKindaLove]

11. I thought I read somewhere a week or so ago

That Trump wanted to pull a Rodman and go to Russia to free Griner and boost his struggling campaign. Either that or it was just a cover to get back to Russia ASAP

[Rebl2]

13. tfg has a campaign?

sarcasm thingy of course. No way he would do that. It would make his cult followers unhappy.

[Rebl2]

12. I saw earlier

today Mr. Whelan’s brother post that trump never even tried to get his brother released, even though he had an opportunity to at least try. Guess it just wasn’t worth tfgs time.

[eppur_se_muova]

14. Well, to split hairs, we don't actually know what he talked to Putin about.

Even the translator was told to destroy his notes.

So maybe he was actually trying to do some good.

[nightwing1240]

15. The hell with tRump! Brittney Griner is home thank goodness

And President Biden is doing what he can to secure a release for Paul Whelan

[live love laugh]

16. But the RW Owned media won't report **'s negligence

in comparison to Biden’s success.

[Martin68]

17. Meanwhile, as Effete Snob pointed out, Trump gave Maria Butina a get out jail free card and sent her

home without even trying to make an exchange for Whelan.

[czarjak]

18. The Russian Ruse Rube

[muriel_volestrangler]

20. Griner has played in the USA national team for 12 years, and been in 2 gold-medal winning

Olympic teams. Which would be odd behaviour for someone who "openly hates" their country.

[soldierant]

21. Also, missing from this story are a couple of facts -

like the fact that the Biden administration tried, and tried hard,, to get Whelan in on the deal, but didn't succeed. For one thing, he's being held for espionage. You would think someone who is vulnerable to charges under the Espionage Act here might realize there's a difference.

Also that the Biden administration went out of their way th keep Paul's brother in the loop,. and, though sad that this did not work for Paul, he is confident thatPaul has not been forgotten by the US Government.

And, as n aside, Trump**'s shouting about how important Paul is, is likely to have an effect opposite from helping us to get him back. Every comment about hus importance will up their demands for an exchange.