*Former President Donald Trump called jailed WNBA star Brittney Griner “spoiled” during an interview on the Clay Travis & Buck Sexton Show.
Trump also noted that a prisoner exchange for a Russian arms dealer “doesn’t seem like a very good trade.”
“She knew you don’t go in there loaded up with drugs, and she admitted it,” Trump said on the show, New York Post. “I assume she admitted it without too much force because it is what it is, and it certainly doesn’t seem like a very good trade, does it? He’s absolutely one of the worst in the world, and he’s gonna be given his freedom because a potentially spoiled person goes into Russia loaded up with drugs.”
According to multiple reports, the United States has offered to release Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout, known as the “Merchant of Death” in exchange for Griner and former U.S. Marine Paul Whelan.
READ MORE: Here’s the Latest on the Brittney Griner Trial in Russia After Her Testimony on Wednesday | VIDEO
Griner has been detained in Russia since February on accusations of smuggling cannabis oil, which is illegal in the country. Last month, she pleaded guilty to drug charges in a Russian court. “I was in a rush packing and the cartridges accidentally ended up in my bag,” Griner told the court in Khimki, BBC reports.
“She went in there loaded up with drugs into a hostile territory where they’re very vigilant about drugs,” added Trump, who pardoned a bunch of crooks and criminals during his presidency. “They don’t like drugs. And she got caught. And now we’re supposed to get her out — and she makes, you know, a lot of money, I guess. We’re supposed to get her out for an absolute killer and one of the biggest arms dealers in the world. Killed many Americans. Killed many people.”
The WNBA champion and two-time Olympic gold medalist was arrested at an airport near Moscow after customs officers found “vapes” containing hashish oil in her luggage. Griner faces a 10-year prison sentence if convicted.
Former Trump Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has also weighed in on the controversy by slamming the proposed prisoner swap, according to the New York Post report.
“He’s a bad guy. He is a guy who wanted to kill Americans. It presents a real risk to the United States. There’s a real reason the Russians want to get him home. To offer a trade like this is a dangerous precedent,” Pompeo told “America’s Newsroom.”
“This is not a good trade, not the right path forward, and it’ll likely lead to more,” Pompeo added.
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