On Thursday (December 8), Donald Trump Jr. slammed President Joe Biden for negotiating a deal that saw the release of prolific arms dealer Viktor Bout in exchange for the release of WNBA champion Brittney Griner from a Russian prison.
Taking to Truth Social, Donald Trump Jr. facetiously stated, “No one cuts better deals than Biden.”
He then pointed out how Russia was getting an “INTERNATIONAL ARMS DEALER” while the U.S. had secured the release of “an awful America Hating WNBA player.”
Trump Jr.’s remarks about Griner hating the U.S. reference her decision to protest the U.S. National Anthem during the George Floyd outrage. Griner refused to play in WNBA games if the National Anthem was played and threatened to walk off in instances where the WNBA played it.
The President had posted a picture of himself and the wife of Griner, Cherelle Griner, on Twitter, captioning it, “Moments ago I spoke to Brittney Griner,” adding that the athlete is “safe,” and “on a plane” returning to the U.S.
In February, Griner was arrested at an airport in Moscow for possessing vape cartridges containing cannabis oil; Griner has spent the last ten months in custody in a Russian prison.
She was sentenced to nine years for the infraction in August.
At the time of her detainment, she was in Russia to play in a professional league during the WNBA’s off-season.
The U.S. has had to release Viktor Bout to secure Griner’s release.
Bout is a prolific arms dealer known as the “Merchant of Death” who was incarcerated after a sting operation that found Bout selling arms to undercover U.S. Agents posing as members of a Columbian terrorist group wanting to kill U.S. citizens.
