Former U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton sounded off on President Donald Trump as she weighed in on the poisoning of a Russian opposition leader who suffered a similar outcome as previous critics of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
On Thursday, Clinton took to Twitter with a link to a report about the nerve agent poisoning of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny. With the link, Clinton offered her take on the debacle as she called out Trump for taking no action.
“It’s been confirmed that Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny was poisoned with the same nerve agent used on other Putin critics,” Clinton tweeted. “Meanwhile, Trump does nothing.”
Clinton went on to express concern about the need for the U.S. to have real leadership and a strong defense of democracy.
She added, “We deserve leaders who are strong enough to stand up to Putin and defend democracy.”
It's been confirmed that Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny was poisoned with the same nerve agent used on other Putin critics.
— Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) September 3, 2020
Meanwhile, Trump does nothing.
We deserve leaders who are strong enough to stand up to Putin and defend democracy.https://t.co/wIByjj5K57
Clinton’s tweet comes amid German government confirmation of Navalny being poisoned with a Novichok variant, also the same nerve agent identified in the 2018 attack on former Komitet Gosudarstvennoy Bezopasnosti (KGB) spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter, Yulia, in Britain, according to NPR.
Amid reports about Navalny’s poisoning, the White House National Security Council spokesman John Ullyot said released a statement via Twitter on Wednesday addressing the incident.
“The United States is deeply troubled by the results released today. Alexei Navalny’s poisoning is completely reprehensible,” the statement read. “Russia has used the chemical nerve agent Novichok in the past.”
(1 of 3) “The United States is deeply troubled by the results released today. Alexei Navalny’s poisoning is completely reprehensible. Russia has used the chemical nerve agent Novichok in the past.
— NSC 45 Archived (@WHNSC45) September 2, 2020
(2 of 3) “We will work with allies and the international community to hold those in Russia accountable, wherever the evidence leads, and restrict funds for their malign activities.
— NSC 45 Archived (@WHNSC45) September 2, 2020
(3 of 3) “The Russian people have a right to express their views peacefully without fear of retribution of any kind, and certainly not with chemical agents.” – NSC Spokesman John Ullyot
— NSC 45 Archived (@WHNSC45) September 2, 2020
Like Clinton, many Democratic lawmakers have criticized Trump’s presumed leniency toward Russia. The president has also faced blowback about Russia due to U.S. intelligence reports that signaled Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election.