White House National Security Communications Advisor John Kirby fired back at former President Trump and his running mate, Senator J.D. Vance (R-Ohio), for claiming that Trump deserved credit for Thursday’s prisoner swap between Russia and the US, which included the release of Paul Whelan and Evan Gershkovich.
“There is absolutely no evidence that this deal came to fruition because of any potential fear of who the next president could be,” Kirby told CNN’s Kate Bolduan.
On Thursday, Vance said Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed to the prisoner exchange because of the potential for a Trump presidency.
“But we have to ask ourselves: Why are they coming home? And I think it’s because the bad guys around the world recognize that Donald Trump is about to return to office, so they’re cleaning house,” Vance said. “That’s a good thing and I think it’s a testament to the strength of Donald Trump.”
Kirby backed away.
“This deal came together because the president had, President Biden had alliances and partnerships and trust that he could develop, especially with the German chancellor,” Kirby said.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz agreed to release a known Russian assassin, Vadim Krasikov, who proved to be a key player in gaining Russia’s approval for the deal to free the Americans and nearly a dozen other people.
“That’s what brought these guys home, was really solid relationships and the trust that the president had built over the years with foreign leaders and a lot of hard work and some tough decisions on the part of some very strong leaders here in the United States and in Worldwide. ,” he added.
Kirby also responded to Trump’s claims that the release was a “victory for Putin” because the US freed some “really bad guys.”
“I removed 59 different people, 59, and didn’t pay any money, and they allowed some really rude people to leave. You know that,” Trump said Friday morning.
In a post shortly after Biden announced the release, Trump posted on Truth Social pressing for details.
“So when are they going to release the details of the prisoner swap with Russia? How many people do we have against them? Are we also paying them in cash? Are they giving us money (please remove this question because I’m sure the answer is NO)?” the former president asked in his post.
The US did not pay or receive any money as part of Thursday’s prisoner exchange.
“The previous administration also conducted prisoner exchanges,” Kirby said in response to Trump’s claims. “The previous administration also had to make difficult decisions to get Americans home.”
Kirby also responded to Trump’s claims about his success in releasing prisoners, saying Biden has secured Americans’ freedom.
“I can’t dispute Mr. Trump’s number, 59, but let me just say that President Biden took home more than 70 Americans,” he added.
The White House and Biden also rejected Vance and other Republicans’ claim, with national security adviser Jake Sullivan saying he “doesn’t follow along” when reporters asked him about Vance’s claim.
During his remarks Thursday announcing the release, Biden responded to a reporter’s question about Trump by asking, “Why didn’t he do this when he was president?”
This story originally appeared on thehill.com read the full story
