Conservative blasts Trump for putting 'personal vendettas' over safety of WSJ reporter

Conservative Charlie Sykes joined the chorus of voices furious over Donald Trump trying to turn the Russian arrest of a Wall Street Journal reporter into a political issue that he said could actually hurt the situation.

Evan Gershkovich was arrested in Russia in March 2023 on accusations that he was a U.S. spy. On Thursday, Trump claimed he will be released immediately if he is elected in November.

The statement will effectively "sabotage" his chances of being released before November, complained Sykes on MSNBC.com.

Trump's message suggested his special relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin was the key to freeing the reporter.

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The U.S. reportedly came within inches from getting Gershkovich and Putin foe Alexei Navalny out of prison when Navalny died.

Sykes explained that the statement is an example of a non-official inserting himself into "a delicate legal and diplomatic issue in the least constructive manner possible."

He cited The Atlantic’s Tom Nichols, who wondered why Trump hasn't tried to use his influence to save Gershkovich already if he has such power.

If negotiations are indeed ongoing, Trump's post could derail everything and put it on hold until after the election, Sykes said.

"In yet another unusual twist, the Russian government seemed to rebuke Trump’s attempted intervention," Sykes pointed out. They claimed that any negotiations must be carried out in secret.

"But it’s not even clear how this would work. What quid pro quo would be required?" Sykes asked. "Would Putin do this huge favor for him out of personal affection? Or in return for Trump abandoning Ukraine, or perhaps withdrawing key American support for NATO?"

One thing it did establish, he wrote, is that Trump still sees himself as the puppet master of Putin and is connecting the Russian leader to his 2024 election.

Sykes recalled Trump's 2018 statement, which claimed Russians didn't interfere in the U.S. election in 2016. The statement flies in the face of every intelligence report saying the opposite.

Then there is the defense Trump gave of Putin when speaking to former Fox host Bill O'Reilly.

“There are a lot of killers. You think our country’s so innocent?” Trump said.

"But again, this would not be the first time Trump has seemed more interested in personal vendettas than ensuring the continued safety and security of United States citizens," wrote Sykes.

Sykes thinks the real reason Trump hasn't done anything to save Gershkovich is that it's no more than an effort to score political points.

Read the full column here.