Critics slammed the Biden administration’s deal to return WNBA player Brittney Griner to her home in the United States after she was sentenced to nine years in a Russian prison on drug charges.
In exchange for Griner’s release, the U.S. government agreed to release international arms dealer Victor Booth, who was arrested by the DEA in Thailand in 2008 and placed in U.S. custody, to the Russian government.
Dubbed “The Merchant of Death” by his accusers, Booth was accused of conspiring to kill Americans. Many on Twitter noted that Booth was the inspiration for Nicolas Cage’s Lord of War.
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WNBA star and two-time Olympic gold medalist Brittney Griner holds photos in a cage in a courtroom in Khimki, near Moscow, Thursday, Aug. 4, 2022.
(Pool photo via Yevgeniya Novozhenina/AP)
In addition to critics claiming that Russian President Vladimir Putin gained the upper hand in the deal by taking back his “merchant of death,” they criticized Biden for not even taking back U.S. Marine Corps veteran Paul Whelan. Whelan has been serving a 16-year sentence in a Russian prison since 2018 on espionage charges.
Biden’s team had reportedly initially asked to release Griner and Whelan for the bout, but that didn’t happen.
Critics on Twitter slammed the whole deal, with some calling it the worst trade they’ve ever seen.
Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy called the trade brutal in a tweet Thursday morning: “This is great news until you google who Victor Bout is and realize Biden was taken to the woodshed in this deal. Trade in trade history. Happened to Griner the story was out of —edi, but it looks like a short-sighted PR stunt.”
Sports journalist and conservative podcaster Jason Whitlock was also unimpressed by the trade, commenting: “Help me think about the Greener-for-Death trade. Does it feel like one of the lowest points in the history of US foreign policy? Or am I exaggerating? Give me a little give perspective. What’s comparable? BIG 2.0 bay?”
Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout, right, walks past makeshift cameras before his trial at the Bangkok Criminal Court on August 20, 2010.
(Christophe ARCHAMBAULT/AFP via Getty Images)
Gov. Ron DeSantis, R-Fla., was quick to respond that director Christina Pushau tweeted an image of Nicolas Cage’s “Lord of War” and reminded his followers that Bo was the man who inspired the film.
He commented: “So it’s about Biden, the Russian criminal who was released in exchange for Brittany Griner – a film whose career involves conspiring to distribute weapons to terrorists and kill Americans. Biden is simply trying to get foreign countries to arrest more Americans.” encouraged for. this.”
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John Sifer, a former member of the CIA, tweeted: “While it’s nice to have Griner home, we have to be honest. This is playing Putin’s game. But through a globally recognized credible trial was the real criminal accused. Griner was held hostage. ordered us to extort money.”
RedState contributor Bonchi tweeted: “To do this you put a murderous gun dealer back on the street and kept a US Marine out of contract for three years. Griner shouldn’t have been jailed for nine years, but bragging like that? It’s very rude.”
National Review’s Jim Geraghty slammed President Biden’s tweet about the exchange. He tweeted: “It cost the US the world’s most notorious arms dealer with blood on its hands near the sea, equipping armies of child soldiers and selling arms to Al Qaeda and the Taliban. metaphorical streets’.
Cheryl Griner, left, wife of Olympian and WNBA player Brittney Griner, speaks after President Biden announced his release from Russian custody at the White House on Dec. 8, 2022. DC Griner was released as part of a prisoner exchange involving Russians. arms dealer Victor Booth.
(Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)