Donald Trump Jr. condemned the release of “terrible” WNBA “American-hating” Britney Griner in a post on Truth Social Thursday shortly after the basketball star was released from prison in Russia.
The same man who supported the overthrow of the presidential election called 32-year-old Griner (black and gay) an “Americanophobic” rebellion on January 6, 2021.
After the police killings of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor in 2020, Griner, who plays for the Phoenix Mercury, has joined many professional athletes in refusing to stand for the national anthem before games and refusing to stand for the national anthem. It drew attention to the killing by calling on people not to chant the . played at all.
Trump Jr. was parroting his father with an ugly post.
Donald Trump, who is being investigated for his role in the deadly Jan. 6 riots, also ripped Griner off as “a basketball player who openly hates our country” in a Truth Social post on Thursday.
Many Republicans and other right-wingers have come to complain about Griner and her release.
Screenshot/Truth Social/Donald Trump Jr.
Griner, a two-time Olympic gold medalist, was arrested 10 months ago for possessing an e-cigarette cartridge at a Moscow airport. I was visiting Russia.
In August, a Russian court convicted her of criminal drug smuggling. She was sentenced to nine years in prison.
Griner was released as part of a prisoner exchange to free notorious Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout, known as the “Merchant of Death,” who was imprisoned in the United States.
Former US Marine Paul Whelan, detained in Russia, was part of the deal that led to Griner’s release, despite reports that the Biden administration tried to make him part of the exchange. There was not.
Whelan, 52, has been detained on espionage charges, which he denies, and was sentenced to 16 years in prison in 2020.
Whelan’s family is “devastated” that he is still in Russia, but unlike the Trumps, they are happy with Griner and her family.
“We are so happy that Britney Griner is heading home,” Whelan’s brother David said in a statement to CNN.
“As a Russian hostage family, I can literally just imagine her joy at being reunited with her loved ones and being on vacation in time,” Whelan added.
“The Biden administration has made the right decision to bring Mr. Griner home and make a deal that is possible rather than waiting for a deal that won’t happen,” he said.
