Trump uses brief comment on Navalny's death to claim his own political persecution

Former President Donald Trump on Monday used his first direct comment on

" target="_blank">Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny's death to complain about the alleged political persecution he claims he's facing in his own legal battles.

«The sudden death of Alexei Navalny has made me more and more aware of what is happening in our Country,» Trump wrote on his social media platform, claiming that his political and court opponents, as well as judges in his cases, are «leading us down a path to destruction» in a «slow, steady progression.»

Trump's primary challenger Nikki Haley has been blasting him for not commenting on Navalny's death and not condemning Russian President Vladimir Putin. Navalny had been a vocal critic of Putin and President Joe Biden immediately accused Putin of being responsible for the death.

Last night, Trump appeared to make a similarly compare himself to Navalny, sharing on Truth Social an opinion piece with a headline that said, «Biden:Trump::Putin:Navalny.»

Trump's first direct — but brief — comment on Navalny's death comes three days after it was announced — and he has yet to mention it on the campaign trail — neither during a brief news conference Friday evening, at his appearance at «SneakerCon» in Philadelphia Saturday afternoon nor at his rally in Michigan later that evening.

Instead, his campaign remarks over the weekend zeroed in on his own political and legal battles, including more than $350 million in penalties New York Judge Aurthur Engoron imposed on him in a civil fraud case in which Trump was accused of inflating values of his properties — the ruling coming out the same day Navalny's death was revealed.

Haley, who served as Trump’s ambassador to the United Nations, has been capitalizing