Haley condemns Trump’s support for Putin following Navalny’s death

Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley criticized former President Donald Trump for his previous praise of Russian President Vladimir Putin, especially after the reported death of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny in prison on Friday.

“Putin did this,” Haley wrote in a post on Friday morning. “The same Putin who Donald Trump praises and defends. The same Trump who said, ‘In all fairness to Putin, you’re saying he killed people. I haven’t seen that.’”

As her home state’s primary draws closer, the former South Carolina governor has increased her criticisms of Trump, with whom she served as a United Nations ambassador.

On Friday, the Russian Prison Service said Navalny didn’t feel well after he went for a walk. He reportedly lost consciousness afterward before being pronounced dead.

Despite trailing Trump by double digits in the polls, Haley has frequently targeted the former president on the campaign trail for his apparent friendliness with foreign dictators.

On Valentine’s Day, her campaign released a series of sarcastic love letters featuring Trump’s past comments about the leaders of some of America’s chief adversaries. A card mockingly addressed to Putin read, “I called President Putin of Russia to congratulate him on his election victory. The Fake News Media is crazed because they wanted me to excoriate him. They are wrong!”

Russia’s next presidential election is scheduled for March, and Putin is widely expected to win another term.

Earlier this month, Haley cautioned against taking “the side of a thug” following Trump’s comments that Russia could “do whatever the hell they want” to NATO nations that are “delinquent” in defense spending.

Trump holds a 35-point lead over Haley in South Carolina ahead of the Palmetto State’s Feb. 24 primary, according to a new CBS News/YouGov poll.