On Thursday, a landmark prisoner exchange, the largest since the Cold War, was confirmed by US officials. This high-stakes negotiation involved the United States and 6 other countries, culminating in the release of 24 prisoners—a significant diplomatic breakthrough.
National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan highlighted the unprecedented nature of the exchange, noting the extensive international collaboration involved. “We haven’t seen this scale of exchange since the Cold War, nor one involving so many nations and close US allies working in concert,” Sullivan told reporters.
President Joe Biden personally informed the families of Paul Whelan, Evan Gershkovich, Alsu Kurmasheva, and Vladimir Kara-Murza at the White House that their loved ones were on their way home.
Yet, rather than celebrating this diplomatic success, some Republicans have taken to spinning the story in a bizarre direction.
North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum appeared on Fox News, asserting that Russia’s decision to release the hostages was driven by their belief that Donald Trump will win the next election, and they want to avoid dealing with him.
The reaction on social media was swift and brutal. Critics ridiculed Burgum’s claim as a baseless and desperate attempt to undermine the Biden administration’s success.
“That’s so stupid,” wrote X user @KellDA.
User @DrewM987 pointedly noted, “SPOILER: Trump was president when they were detained and did nothing about it.”
Another user asked, “So Trump says he can end the war because Putin listens to him but Putin also doesn’t want anything to do with him. Huh?
User @ConservBlue2020 criticized Burgum’s statements, saying, “Trump had 2 years to do it.”
“Burgum is just another wounded narcissist dying for attention on Faux News,” added user ScottX.
@JazzInCincy remarked, “Trump is probably PISSED because he said he was going to free them. Only he ALONE could free them!”
“I thought only Trump could pull this off?”, quipped user @miscellany101.
User @gatomedianoche observed, “I am seeing more gaslighting than usual today from Trump surrogates. This hasn’t been a good week for Trump.”
The scathing responses reflect a widespread consensus that Burgum’s comments are nothing more than a desperate, partisan attempt to twist a significant diplomatic achievement into a negative narrative against Biden.
See the clip below:
sigh — Burgum's spin of the hostage deal with Russia is "the reason why Russia wanted to do this deal now is they think President Trump is gonna win, and they don't want to deal with him." pic.twitter.com/dbD89kuIPs
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) August 1, 2024
