JD Vance desperately tries to find a way to credit Trump for Biden’s prisoner swap

JD Vance is desperately trying to give his new running mate credit for the high-profile prison swap carried out by the Biden administration – wildly claiming the historic moment is a “testament to [Donald] Trump’s strength”.

On Thursday,Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, former US Marine Paul Whelan and Russian-American journalist Alsu Kurmasheva were among 16 prisoners released from Russian prisons in the largest prisoner swap with the West since the end of the Cold War.

The three Americans were greeted by President Joe Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris and their families as the aircraft touched down on US soil at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland on Thursday evening.

Biden claimed that “all three were falsely accused of being spies” who had been subjected to a “show trial” by the Kremlin.

The historic deal was led by the Biden administration and involved multiple nations and two years of negotiations.

It has been hailed by the White House as an act of “vintage Joe Biden” diplomacy, something that looks set to seal his legacy after deciding not to seek reelection this November.

But Vance, who became Trump’s running mate just days following the assassination attempt last month, appears to be doing all he can to hand the credit to the former president instead.

The Ohio senator wildly claimed that the hostages were released because the Kremlin is fearful of a second Trump administration.

“We certainly want these Americans to come back home. It was ridiculous that they were in prison to begin with,” he told CNN.

“But we have to ask ourselves: Why are they coming home? And I think it’s because bad guys all over the world recognize Donald Trump’s about to be back in office, so they’re cleaning house.”