Donald Trump said Sunday, Dec. 11, that he previously rejected an attempt by Russia to trade “Merchant of Death” arms dealer Viktor Bout for former US Marine Paul Whelan.
The former US President had called out current president Joe Biden for swapping Bout for WNBA player Brittney Griner.
Trump has now doubled down, insisting he would never free someone who has “killed untold numbers.”
He wrote on his Truth Social account: “I turned down a deal with Russia for a one on one swap of the so-called Merchant of Death for Paul Whelan.
“I wouldn’t have made the deal for a hundred people in exchange for someone that has killed untold numbers of people with his arms deals.”
Bout, who was convicted in 2011 of conspiracy to kill Americans by supplying a Colombian terrorist group with weapons, was freed last week in exchange for the return of WNBA star Brittney Griner.
Griner had been sentenced to nine years in a Russian forced labor camp after authorities found vape canisters with cannabis oil in her suitcase when she touched down in Moscow back in February.
