Donald Trump (left), Vladimir Putin.Photo: Noam Galai/WireImage; Peter Muhly/WPA Pool/Getty
Donald Trumphas at least one ally when it comes to his myriad criminal charges: Russian PresidentVladimir Putin, who said in recent remarks the myriad investigations of the former U.S. president demonstrate corruption and “rottenness” in American politics.
“As for Trump, for us what is happening in today’s conditions, in my opinion, is good because it shows the rottenness of the American political system, which cannot pretend to teach others democracy," Putin said at the Eastern Economic Forum held in Russia on Tuesday.
“Everything that is happening with Trump is the persecution of a political rival for political reasons. That’s what it is," Putin continued. “And this is being done in front of the public of the United States and the whole world.”
Former President Donald Trump boards his plane after answering to criminal charges in Fulton County, Georgia, on Aug. 24, 2023.ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS/AFP/Getty
ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS/AFP/Getty
Trump is currently mired in a number of legal issues, including lawsuits and investigations at both the state and federal level. And despite that the investigations stem from different jurisdictions, Trump has — like Putin — decried them as politically motivated.
In April, Trump became the first sitting or former president in U.S. history to answer to criminal charges following an investigation into an alleged hush money payment he made to adult film starStormy Danielswhile he was a presidential candidate in 2016.
Less than two months later, he was charged following a federal investigation into his handling of classified documents (and what prosecutors say was a conspiracy to obstruct justice during the probe).
In August, he was hit with a third indictment related to his actions leading up to theJan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot, following the “most wide-ranging” Justice Department investigation in history. And just two weeks later, he was indicted in Georgia alongside 18 of his allies over attempts to overturn the state’s 2020 election results.
Russian President Vladimir Putin.Florian Gaertner/Photothek via Getty
In more recent years, Trump has also spoken highly of the Russian autocrat, calling Putin a “genius” shortly after his invasion of Ukraine began in 2022.
PresidentJoe Biden, meanwhile, has called Putin a “war criminal,” and a “killer” who does “not have a soul.”
source: people.com
