During his campaign rally in Atlanta, 2024 Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump congratulates Russian President Vladimir Putin for the recent prisoner swap, saying it sets a bad precedent, and he calls Democratic presumptive presidential nominee Kamala Harris “a low IQ individual.”
President Joe Biden announced that his administration secured the release of three Americans and one U.S. resident, Vladimir Kara-Murza, as part of a prisoner swap with Moscow. The U.S. and some of its allies agreed to exchange eight Russian detainees in return for Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, former U.S. Marine Paul Whelan and Russian-American journalist Alsu Kurmasheva, along with a number of Russian dissidents held in Russian prisons. Several German nationals were also released as part of the deal.
In return, Russia welcomed back several Russian nationals who have been convicted of crimes including espionage, fraud and involvement in the shooting death of a Georgian commander, according to the Associated Press.
“I will not stop working until every American wrongfully detained or held hostage around the world is reunited with their family. My Administration has now brought home over 70 such Americans, many of whom were in captivity since before I took office,”
