WNBA player Brittney griner is heading back to the U.S. 10 months after being detained in Russia on drug charges as part of a prisoner swap.
President Joe Bidendelivered remarks on Thursday morning celebrating the news of Grinerâs release.
However, the conditions of the exchange are not going over well with some on Twitter.
The U.S. agreed to swap Viktor Bout, an arms dealer who was convicted of conspiring to kill Americans in 2011, in exchange for Griner.
Marc Lotter, the chief communications officer at the conservative America First Policy Institute, tweeted, âThe President traded a terrorist and arms dealer known as the âMerchant of Death,â who sold weapons intended to kill Americans, for a basketball player.â
âWhile a former U.S. Marine rots in Russian custody. Joe Bidenâs foreign policy is an embarrassment, feckless, and a disgrace!â he added.
National Reviewâs Jim Geraghty wrote, âAnd all it cost the U.S. was putting the worldâs most notorious arms dealer, with a near-ocean of blood on his hands, who equipped armies of child soldiers and sold weapons to al-Qaeda and the Taliban, back on the metaphorical streets.â
Conservative radio host Clay Travis tweeted, âWe gave Russia âThe Merchant of Death,â we got back a WNBA player who hates America. This is the worst trade in history.â
Richard Grenell, the former acting director of National Intelligence, wrote, âJoe Biden admits Vladimir Putin dictated the exchange: âThis was not a choice of which American to bring home,â Biden said.â
âPutin wanted the Merchant of Death home in Russia and only offered a basketball player who carried pot in her luggage as a swap,â he added.
https://twitter.com/RichardGrenell/status/1600856085430095872
Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) tweeted, âIâm glad Brittney is coming home âŚbut what about U.S. Marine vet Paul Whelan? Heâs still held by Putin in Russia. For Biden to give Putin a dangerous arms dealer â someone known as the âMerchant of Deathâ â is weak disgusting. Doing so while leaving Paul behind is unforgivable.â
Several people noted that retired U.S. Marine Paul Whelan has been detained in Russia since 2018 on charges of spying.
Biden said on Thursday the U.S. has ânot forgotten about Paul Whelan, who has been unjustly detained in Russia for years.â He added, âWeâll keep negotiating in good faith for Paulâs release. I guarantee that. I say that to the family.â
Meanwhile, Yahoo Newsâ Michael Weiss noted Bout was âonce the most wanted international criminal after Osama bin Laden (whom he very likely armed). A former GRU officer, there was hardly a war in the 90s he didnât pour guns and weapons into.â
CBS Newsâ â60 Minutesâ shared a 2010 interview with Mike Braun, the former chief of operations for the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).
âViktor Bout, in my eyes, is one of the most dangerous men on the face of the earth,â Baun said.
