Nikki Haley slams Donald Trump for ‘siding’ with Russian President Vladimir Putin killing his political rival by remaining silent on Alexei Navalny’s death

Nikki Haley criticizes Donald Trump for his recent “chilling” response to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s increasing aggression amid speculation that he ordered the assassination of his political rival Alexei Navalny.

The 2024 hopeful said Trump’s silence on Navalny’s death is one of two things: the former president ‘taking the side’ of Putin or a feeling of apathy toward a world leader who kills his opponent.

It comes after Trump received a series of backlash for encouraging Putin to attack rogue NATO allied countries.

‘This goes back to the fact that we need to remind the American people that Vladimir Putin is not our friend. “Vladimir Putin is not great,” Haley told ABC News This Week on Sunday morning. ‘He This is not someone we want to associate with. This is not someone we want to be friends with. He is not someone we can trust.

Haley has become increasingly critical of Trump’s soft stance on Russia and Putin’s “empowerment.” Pictured: Trump and Putin speak during the APEC Leaders Summit in Vietnam on November 11, 2017.

Navalny was a Russian opposition leader and anti-corruption activist who was Putin’s political prisoner and died at age 47 on Friday.

His body reportedly shows signs of bruising caused by being restrained while suffering a seizure, raising fears that Navalny may have been killed on Putin’s orders.

Many world leaders and politicians have spoken out against Navalny’s untimely death, but Trump did not mention the issue during his weekend rally, prompting swift criticism of the former president.

“It’s actually quite surprising that he… doesn’t acknowledge anything with Navalny,” Haley told ABC News host Jonathan Karl.

“Either he sides with Putin and thinks it’s okay that Putin killed one of his political opponents, or he just doesn’t think it’s a big deal,” he added. ‘Either of the two is worrying. Either one is a problem.”

Trump told a crowd in Conway, South Carolina, last weekend that if he were president again, he would not protect NATO allies against Russia if they do not pay their fair share to the alliance.

‘The president of a big country stood up and said ‘if we don’t pay and we are attacked by Russia, will they protect us?’ I said you didn’t pay, are you in default? He said, ‘Yeah, let’s say that happened.’

‘No, I wouldn’t protect you,’ Trump said last Saturday. “In fact, I would encourage them [Russia] do whatever they want.

‘You have to pay! You have to pay your bills.

Alexei Navalny (pictured) died as a political prisoner in Russia on Friday at the age of 47, with recent reports raising concerns that he was killed on Putin’s orders.

All of this coincides with discussion in the House about bringing more aid to Ukraine in its conflict with Russia, which this month entered its third year.

Republicans are more reluctant to send more funds to kyiv after the United States already provided billions to the Eastern European nation after the Russian invasion in February 2022.

Haley accuses Trump – who is the Republican front-runner for the 2024 nomination – of empowering Putin with his recent comments.

‘When you hear Donald Trump say in South Carolina a week ago that he would encourage Putin to invade our allies if they weren’t doing everything they could. “He’s chilling, because all he did at that moment was empower Putin,” Haley said.

“And all he did in that moment was side with a guy who kills his political opponents, he sided with a thug who arrests American journalists and holds them hostage, and he sided with a guy who I wanted to make it clear to the Russian government people, do not challenge me in the next election or this will happen to you too.’