Donald Trump says Vladimir Putin will free jailed US reporter Evan Gershkovich for him
- The Republican presidential candidate said the journalist would be freed soon after the November election, though the Kremlin denied having contact with Trump
- The Biden campaign ridiculed Trump’s assertion, noting how he has in the past called the news media an ‘enemy of the people’
US Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump said on Thursday he will use his relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin to get Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich freed from a Russian prison.
The assertion was ridiculed by the campaign of Democratic President Joe Biden, which cited Trump’s frequent criticism of the news media as an “enemy of the people”.
Trump wrote on his Truth Social media platform that the journalist would be freed soon after the November 5 US presidential election where he faces a rematch against Biden.
“Evan Gershkovich, the Reporter from The Wall Street Journal, who is being held by Russia, will be released almost immediately after the Election, but definitely before I assume Office. He will be HOME, SAFE, AND WITH HIS FAMILY,” Trump said.
“Vladimir Putin, President of Russia, will do that for me, but not for anyone else, and WE WILL BE PAYING NOTHING!”
Gershkovich was arrested in Russia in March last year on spying charges that he, his paper and the Biden administration have all strongly denied. He has spent more than a year in a Moscow prison, with no date set for a trial.