Trump doubles down on comparing himself to Navalny — while praising Russian military: report

One day after comparing the death of Russian President Vladimir Putin critic Alexei Navalny to himself, Donald Trump — once again — compared the Russian activist's death to the ongoing legal problems he's facing, according to The New York Times.

"It is a form of — Navalny. It is a form of communism or fascism," Trump replied when Fox News host Laura Ingraham asked the MAGA hopeful during a Tuesday Greenville, South Carolina town hall about how he'd pay the $400 million fine from his New York civil fraud case.

When Ingraham asked the ex-president to expound on his response, the Times reports, Trump "commended Mr. Navalny for his courage, calling his death 'very sad' and saying that Mr. Navalny 'was a very brave guy.' He also expressed his belief that Mr. Navalny — who returned to Russia in 2021 from Germany, where he had been recovering from being poisoned — would have been better served by 'staying away and talking from outside of the country.'"

READ MORE: Conservative rips Trump defenders’ 'grotesque' comparison to Russian opposition leader

The four-times indicted MAGA hopeful also lauded Russia's military, according to the report, saying, "You’re really up against the war machine in Russia. Russia, what did they do? They defeated Hitler, they defeated Napoleon. Yeah, they’re a war machine."

Trump also suggested that "what had happened to Mr. Navalny was happening 'in our country too,'" before saying his four indictments are all a result "of the fact that I am in politics."

Speaking on Navalny's Friday, February 16 death in a Siberian prison for the first time Monday, Trump wrote on social media, "The sudden death of Alexei Navalny has made me more and more aware of what is happening in our Country. It is a slow, steady progression, with crooked, Radical Left Politicians, Prosecutors, and Judges leading us down a path to destruction. Open Borders, Rigged Elections, and Grossly Unfair Courtroom Decisions are destroying America. We are a nation in decline, a failing nation!"

READ MORE: 'Putin’s puppet': Critics blast Trump for comparing Navalny death to his own legal crisis

The New York Times' full report is available at this link (subscription required).