Biden Slams Trump When Asked About Ex-President’s Claim He Could Have Saved Russian Hostages

After delivering remarks following the historic prisoner swap that released 24 detainees including Americans Paul Whelan , Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich , and Russian-American journalist Alsu Kurmasheva , President Joe Biden took a few questions from the press and walked out on a zinger aimed at former President Donald Trump .

Trump has repeatedly claimed that only he would be able to secure the release of Gershkovich by making a deal with Russian President Vladimir Putin . On Truth Social in May, Trump wrote : “Evan Gershkovich, the Reporter from The Wall Street Journal, who is being held by Russia, will be released almost immediately after the Election, but definitely before I assume Office. He will be HOME, SAFE, AND WITH HIS FAMILY. Vladimir Putin, President of Russia, will do that for me, but not for anyone else, and WE WILL BE PAYING NOTHING!”

As Biden stepped away from the podium, a reporter asked him: “President Trump has said repeatedly that he could have gotten the hostages out without giving them anything in exchange. What do you say to that? What do you say to President Trump now? Former President Trump?”

Biden’s answer : “Why didn’t he do it when he was president?”

While Gershkovich was not arrested until 2023, during Biden’s administration, Whelan was arrested in 2018, when Trump was president. In 2022, former Trump National Security Council official Fiona Hill told CBS’s Margaret Brennan that then-President Trump “was not particularly interested” in Whelan’s case.

Watch the video above via CNN.