Trump Again Claims Evan Gershkovich Will Be Freed If He Wins Election

Donald Trump on Wednesday repeated his claim that jailed Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, who is currently standing trial in Russia on espionage charges, will be released if the former president takes back the White House in the upcoming election.

In a post on his Truth Social platform, Trump blamed President Joe Biden for the fact that Gershkovich remains in Russian custody more than a year after he was detained in Yekaterinburg.

“Crooked Joe can’t do anything right, although it is likely that he will pay $BILLIONS, which continues a very bad ‘Biden Precedent,’ to get Evan home,” Trump wrote, adding that his own administration freed hostages from various countries for “next to nothing.”

Trump also said that Russian President Vladimir Putin, the authoritarian leader he has repeatedly praised, does not hold Biden in high regard, suggesting that this has hurt the journalist’s case.

“Putin has no respect for Biden — and that’s the way it goes!!!” Trump said. “Fear not, Evan, I will get you home soon, and you will be safe while there!!!”

This is not the first time that Trump has commented on the case, recently writing that Putin would release Gershkovich “for me, but not for anyone else.”

Despite his claims, it’s unclear how Trump would speedily manage to secure Gershkovich’s release.

While Putin has previously indicated he would be open to a prisoner swap for the journalist, it appears there’s been little progress on the issue as Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters Wednesday that “this topic likes silence.”

“We know that this topic is very high-profile in the United States, but it is not so high-profile inside our country,” Peskov said, according to The Washington Post. “The investigation is