'Cheque is in mail': Internet divided as Donald Trump says he's doubtful if Putin is responsible for Alexei Navalny's death

WASHINGTON, DC: After receiving criticism for not directly accusing Russian President Vladimir Putin of carrying out what many Western leaders consider to be an assassination, former President Donald Trump persisted in casting doubt on the passing of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny on Sunday, March 17, according to The Hill.

Notably, less was known about Navalny's demise until a few days after he passed away in a Russian jail in February. Trump has refrained from blaming Putin for the situation thus far, but President Biden and other Western leaders have stated that he is accountable.

Donald Trump doubts if Vladimir Putin was behind Navalny's death

In an interview with Howard Kurtz for Fox News' 'MediaBuzz', the former president discussed Navalny's passing which was aired on Sunday, March 18.

Trump answered when asked if Putin was responsible, "I don’t know. Perhaps. I mean, possibly, I could say probably. I don’t know. He’s a young man, so statistically, he’d be alive for a long time. You go by the insurance numbers, he’d be alive for another 40 years."

He added, "Something happened that was unusual."

Again unable to say definitively, Trump avoided answering Kurtz's question on Navalny's previous attempt at assassination by poisoning. Trump said, "I don’t know. You certainly can’t say for sure. But certainly, that would look like something very bad happened."

After Navalny passed away last month, Trump compared the opposition leader's imprisonment to his own legal situation and referred to a civil action against him as a "form of Navalny."

Notably, Republicans and Democrats alike harshly condemned the remarks, with former Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif) characterizing them as 'below the dignity of a human being', The Hill reported.

Pelosi said, "You wonder, what does Putin have on Donald Trump that he always has to be beholden to him, his buddy in vileness?"

She added, "It is so horrible you think, ‘No, somebody must have made this up. Not even Donald Trump could go this far. This statement should disqualify him from running for anything, much less president of the United States."

Internet divided after Trump's statement

Several people on the internet stayed divided and shared their mixed opinions on social media platforms. A user wrote on X, "The cheque is in the mail. He needs all the money he can get to pay his lawyers" while on stated, "Can we really call Mr. Trump's rambling an answer?"

A user also wrote, "Do you seriously expect Trump to blame Putin after saying he will encourage Putin to attack/invade slow-paying NATO members?" while one mentioned, "Putin was not responsible our government was. The Truth will come out eventually."

A user also wrote, "I prefer proof before making accusations. But wait! Liberals will just make up stuff to fit the narrative, right?"

This article contains remarks made on the Internet by individual people and organizations. MEAWW cannot confirm them independently and does not support claims or opinions being made online.