Trump Fuming Over Brittney Griner's Release From Russian Prison, Obama Is Celebrating

Donald Trump is up in arms about Brittney Griner's release from a Russian prison in exchange for convicted Russian Arms dealer Viktor Bout. Granted, the former president has several reasons to be angry these days but he's full-on steaming at the Biden-Kremlin deal that brought the WNBA star home after ten months. The two-time Olympic Gold Medalist who had been playing for the last seven years on a Russian basketball team was arrested last February for possessing less than a gram of cannabis oil.

“What kind of a deal is it to swap Brittney Griner, a basketball player who openly hates our country for the man known as ‘The Merchant of Death,'” Trump ranted in a post on his not-Twitter social media website Truth Social. 

“What a stupid and unpatriotic embarrassment for the USA!” he said.

Trump implied that former US Marine Paul Whelan should have been freed instead of Griner. Although the former president, who had a cozy relationship with Russian leader Vladimir Putin, didn't seem to spend much time trying to get Whelan out of prison while in office. Whelan was arrested in Russia in 2018 on espionage charges, convicted in 2020 and then received a 16-year prison sentence. 

Reminder that despite being besties with Putin, Trump failed to bring Paul Whelan home for more than 2 years pic.twitter.com/dc6V3ocyiC

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) December 8, 2022

Meanwhile, Another Former President Is Celebrating Griner's Release

“Grateful for the long-overdue release of Brittney Griner today from Russian custody. Kudos to @POTUS and his administration for the difficult diplomatic work involved to make it happen. We’re looking forward to having Brittney back home,” President Barack Obama tweeted. 

Grateful for the long-overdue release of Brittney Griner today from Russian custody. Kudos to @POTUS and his administration for the difficult diplomatic work involved to make it happen. We’re looking forward to having Brittney back home. https://t.co/G5yKliRoxd

— Barack Obama (@BarackObama) December 8, 2022