Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley took issue with former President Donald Trump's response to Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny's death.
In a Monday morning Truth Social post, Trump said Navalny's death had made him "more aware" of what was happening in America with the country's progression down a "path of destruction."
Haley responded to Trump shortly after in an X post.
“Donald Trump could have condemned Vladimir Putin for being a murderous thug. Trump could have praised Navalny’s courage," the former U.S. ambassador to the U.N. wrote. "Instead, he stole a page from liberals' playbook, denouncing America and comparing our country to Russia."
Prior to Trump's remarks about Navalny's death, Haley threw criticism toward the former president for not speaking up about Navalny's death and cautioned viewers of Russian President Vladimir Putin during a Sunday appearance on ABC News' This Week.
“Either he sides with Putin and thinks it’s cool that Putin killed one of his political opponents or he just doesn’t think it’s that big of a deal,” she claimed “Either one of those is concerning. Either one of those is a problem.”
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“We need to remind the American people that Vladimir Putin is not our friend,” Haley continued. “Vladimir Putin is not cool. This is not someone we want to associate with. This is not someone that we want to be friends with. This is not someone that we can trust.”
Last Friday, Haley criticized Trump's recent suggestion that he would not assist NATO allies who were financially delinquent during a rally in Conway, South Carolina.
"He said that he would side with Putin and not defend NATO allies if they weren't pulling their weight," Haley said. "He said that he would encourage Putin to invade any countries not pulling their weight."
"That means Donald Trump is siding with a thug who kills his political opponents," she added.
Haley similarly called out Trump for not issuing comment on Navalny's death during a CNN appearance.
"The problem is anybody who can't call out a dictator, that's a problem," Haley said of Trump.
"He should be calling out Putin not just for what happened to Navalny, he should be calling Putin out for the fact that he's got Evan Gershkovich as a hostage," she added of the American journalist currently imprisoned in Russia.
Haley said Putin was emboldened by Trump because the former president was "not willing to stand up for our allies."
The former president's Truth Social post made no mention of Putin, though detailed a series of his concerns saying open borders policies, rigged elections, and "grossly unfair courtroom decisions" were destroying the country.
"WE ARE A NATION IN DECLINE, A FAILING NATION!" Trump asserted in his post.
