Former President Donald Trump had shown little interest in the plight of an American journalist currently being held by the Russian government on dubious charges of espionage. But at 1:30 a.m. on Thursday, the Republican candidate picked up his phone and asserted that the Kremlin would only release Evan Gershkovich if he wins the 2024 election.
“Vladimir Putin, President of Russia, will do that for me, but not for anyone else,” Trump posted on his website, Truth Social. The Russian dictator would agree to do in exchange so for “nothing,” he said, adding that the release would come “after the Election, but definitely before I assume Office.”
Gershkovich, 32, is a reporter for the Wall Street Journal who was detained by Russian authorities in March 2023 on accusations of spying. Over a year later, no evidence has been presented to support the claim.
Trump enjoyed warm relations with the Russian government after it backed his 2016 campaign. Asked about Gerskhovich’s case in an April interview with Time magazine, Trump said that relationship would help him get the reporter released. “Putin is going to release him,” Trump said, after explaining that he had not commented on the case “because I have many things I’m working on.”
“I get along very well with Putin,” Trump said, “but the reporter should be released and he will be released. I don’t know if he’s going to be released under Biden.”
Trump previously attacked President Joe Biden for securing the release of another American prisoner in Russia, WNBA star Brittney Griner, who he described as a “spoiled person” and “a basketball player who openly hates our Country.” At the time, he maintained that he would have secured the release of another prisoner, ex-Marine Paul Whelan, without having to exchange a Russian prisoner, saying he “would have been let out for the asking.”