SAN FRANCISCO \u2014 President Biden met with the widow and daughter of the deceased Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny on Thursday, expressing his condolences and reiterating a pledge to issue new sanctions against Russia on Friday.<\/p>\n
Biden posted a photo of himself meeting with Navalny\u2019s widow, Yulia Navalnaya, and daughter, Dasha Navalnaya, on social media.<\/p>\n
Navalny\u2019s death last week at age 47, after years of criticizing Moscow\u2019s corruption and repression, eliminated the most popular figure inside Russia willing to publicly challenge President Vladimir Putin. It was significant blow to Russia\u2019s beleaguered opposition, and Western leaders denounced it as the latest example of Putin\u2019s brutality.<\/p>\n
Biden has said Putin is responsible for Navalny\u2019s death, given his long custody in Russia\u2019s penal system. On Thursday, Biden wrote on social media that Navalny\u2019s \u201clegacy of courage will live on in Yulia and Dasha, and the countless people across Russia fighting for democracy and human rights.\u201d<\/p>\n
A White House statement said Biden met with the two women \u201cto express his heartfelt condolences for their terrible loss following the death of Aleksey Navalny in a Russian prison.\u201d<\/p>\n
It added, \u201cThe President emphasized that Aleksey\u2019s legacy will carry on through people across Russia and around the world mourning his loss and fighting for freedom, democracy, and human rights.\u201d<\/p>\n
Today, I met with Yulia and Dasha Navalnaya \u2013 Aleksey Navalny\u2019s loved ones \u2013 to express my condolences for their devastating loss.<\/p>\n
Aleksey\u2019s legacy of courage will live on in Yulia and Dasha, and the countless people across Russia fighting for democracy and human rights. pic.twitter.com\/aiCcgTrws3<\/p>\n
\u2014 President Biden (@POTUS) February 22, 2024<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Biden\u2019s meeting with Navalny\u2019s family members came amid his increasingly urgent push to persuade House Republicans to approve additional aid to Ukraine, which is fighting to repel a Russian invasion of its territory.<\/p>\n
The Senate passed a $95 billion national security bill for Ukraine, Israel and other U.S. allies in a bipartisan vote on Feb. 13, but House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) quickly announced he would not bring up such a bill in the chamber unless it included security measures at the U.S.-Mexico border. When senators recently reached a bipartisan compromise on a border measure to attach to the bill, Johnson rejected it as insufficient.<\/p>\n
The president\u2019s meeting with Yulia and Dasha Navalnaya was a way to highlight the Russian leader\u2019s authoritarianism. After Navalny died, Biden called it \u201cproof of Putin\u2019s brutality.\u201d<\/p>\n
Biden has also been blasting former president Donald Trump, who leads in the race for the Republican presidential nomination, for his unwillingness to criticize Putin after Navalny\u2019s death.<\/p>\n
At a fundraiser in San Francisco on Wednesday, Biden criticized Trump for attempting to compare himself to Navalny by suggesting his legal troubles in the United States are akin to the persecution Navalny suffered in Russia.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a form of Navalny,\u201d Trump said a Fox News town hall on Tuesday, responding to a question about a $355 million fine that was imposed on his businesses after a New York civil trial. \u201cIt\u2019s happening in our country too.\u201d<\/p>\n
Biden reacted with incredulity at the comparison. \u201cIf I stood here 10 to 15 years ago and said all this, you\u2019d all think I should be committed,\u201d Biden told donors.<\/p>\n
He also took aim at Putin in colorful language, suggesting that the leader is unhinged. While discussing climate change at a fundraiser in San Francisco on Wednesday, the president said, \u201cWe have a crazy SOB like Putin and others \u2014 and we always have to worry about nuclear conflict \u2014 but the existential threat to humanity is climate.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Kremlin responded by accusing Biden of \u201cdemonstrating Hollywood cowboy-style behavior to serve domestic political interests.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
SAN FRANCISCO \u2014 President Biden met with the widow and daughter of the deceased Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny on Thursday, expressing his condolences and reiterating a pledge to issue new sanctions against Russia on Friday. Biden posted a photo of himself meeting with Navalny\u2019s widow, Yulia Navalnaya, and daughter, Dasha Navalnaya, on social media. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":1356,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1355","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-politics"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstriumphs.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1355","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstriumphs.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstriumphs.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstriumphs.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1355"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/businesstriumphs.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1355\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstriumphs.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1356"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstriumphs.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1355"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstriumphs.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1355"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstriumphs.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1355"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}