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The Hill
Evening Report — ‘Their brutal ordeal is over’
By Jonathan Easley,
6 hours ago
FINALLY FREE
Photo from U.S. Government/@POTUS on X
President Biden announced a multi-country prisoner swap that freed several Americans held captive in Russia, as the White House touted a major diplomatic victory less than six months before Biden leaves office.
The president credited Turkey, Germany, Poland, Slovenia and Norway for helping negotiate the release of three U.S. citizens, one American green card holder, five Germans and seven Russians being held as political prisoners in their own country.
The newly-freed Americans:
Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich. Gershkovich was arrested in Russia in March 2023 while on assignment. He was accused of spying and sentenced to 16 years in prison, making him the first American journalist to be detained in Russia since the Cold War. Gershkovich requested an interview with Putin on his way out.
Former U.S. Marine Paul Whelan. Whelan was arrested in Russia in 2018 and sentenced to 16 years in prison. The U.S. tried but failed to include him in the 2022 prisoner swap that resulted in the release of U.S. Marine Trevor Reed and WNBA star Brittney Griner.
Reporter Alsu Kurmasheva, a U.S.-Russian citizen.
Vladimir Kara-Murza, a U.S. green card holder and prominent critic of the Russian government.
Among those freed by the West:
Vadim Krasikov, a convicted Russian assassin. Read more about Krasikov here.
Details and color coming out of today’s news:
Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny was supposed to be part of the prisoner swap but he died in prison in February.
Biden was finalizing the details of the prisoner exchange on the same day he announced he was dropping out of the race for the White House, per communications director
Ben LaBolt.
Vice President Harris had meetings with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Slovenian Prime Minister Robert Golobat key moments during the negotiations.
Biden marked the release with remarks at the White House, where he was surrounded by family members of the freed hostages.
“Their brutal ordeal is over,” the president said.
“I will not stop working until every American wrongfully detained or held hostage around the world is reunited with their family…Still, too many families are suffering and separated from their loved ones, and I have no higher priority as President than bringing those Americans home.”
Former President Trump’s running mate, Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio), reacted to the news by arguing Russian President Vladmir Putin was trying to take advantage of a weak Biden administration before Trump takes office.
“We certainly want these Americans to come back home…But we have to ask ourselves, why are they coming home?…it’s because bad guys all over the world recognize Donald Trump’s about to be back in office, so they’re cleaning house.”
Trump pressed for more details on Truth Social, questioning whether cash had been exchanged or sanctions lifted. The White House denied the claims.
The historic prisoner swap comes as Biden plots his final six months in office and the end to his decades-long political career.
In recent days, Biden has signaled he’d use his lame-duck period to push for new Supreme Court reforms, and a workaround for a student debt relief plan that the high court swatted down earlier this year.
While the White House celebrated one international victory, another of Biden’s foreign policy initiatives seemed to move further away.
Biden’s push for a ceasefire in Gaza and his efforts to secure the release of hostages held by Hamas suffered a setback after Israeli airstrikes killed leaders of Hamas and Hezbollah in Iran and Lebanon.
Iran is vowing to retaliate, pushing the Middle East to the brink of a large-scale war.
The White House said this week that an escalation is not inevitable, but Trump’s former national security adviser John Bolton said the “wider war” is already underway.
Republicans blast Trump for remarks on Harris’s race
Republicans are scolding former President Trump for his racial attack on Vice President Harris, believing it’s a losing message that sets the party up for defeat in November.
Trump on Wednesday questioned whether Harris is really Black, or if she is trying to identify that way for political gain.
The remarks at the National Association of Black Journalists convention set off a media firestorm and provoked blowback from both sides of the aisle.
“It’s not a great idea for either of the parties to be playing racial identity politics, whether it’s ‘white dudes for Kamala’ or whatever this is. … We should spend less time talking about race and more time talking about how we’re going to get people to work,” Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) told Axios.
“It’s unacceptable and abhorrent to attack Vice President Harris or anyone’s racial identity. The American people deserve better,” GOP Senate candidate and former Maryland Gov. Larry Hogansaid on X.
“The campaign is, needs to be, must be about the issues, and there’s plenty to talk about. I just think that’s where the focus needs to be. That’s how we’re going to win in November,” Senate GOP leader John Thune (S.D.) told The Hill.
The remarks set Harris up for an easy rebuke. At a campaign rally in Houston, Harris cast herself as a uniter against Trump’s divisive rhetoric.
“The American people deserve better. The American people deserve a leader who tells the truth, a leader who does not respond with hostility and anger when confronted with the facts. We deserve a leader who understands that our differences do not divide us — they are an essential source of our strength.”
Trump doubled down in a post on Truth Social.
“Crazy Kamala is saying she’s Indian, not Black. This is a big deal. Stone cold phony. She uses everybody, including her racial identity!”
Republicans have been attacking Harris for her policy flip-flops — she has moved to the center on a handful of issues after tacking hard to the left in the 2020 Democratic primary — while Trump’s team has sought to cast Harris as a political shapeshifter who will say or do anything to get elected.
“She is not who she pretends to be. She’ll say one thing to one audience, another thing to another audience. … She’s flip-flopped on every issue. She’s fake, she’s phony.”
Perspectives:
The Free Press: Republicans, you’re going after Harris all wrong.
The Hill: Vance’s disparagement of childless Americans will haunt GOP.
There is evidence that the Trump campaign is suddenly on the defensive, with Medium reporting the Trump campaign is going up with new ads in North Carolina. The Tarheel State is technically a battleground, but Trump has led consistently there and it’s only gone for Democrats once since 1980.
In the new Cook Political Report national polling average, Harris has cut Trump’s lead in half. Trump now has a 1.3 point lead.
Everytown for Gun Safety is pumping $45 million into ads promoting her candidacy in battleground states.
The Veepstakes has invigorated Democrats, who believe they have a deep bench of contenders beyond 2024.
While polls show Harris instantly united the party behind her candidacy, she still has work to do:
Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro appears to be a top contender to be Harris’s running mate. But progressives are sounding the alarm, pushing back on his pro-Israel stance and his past support for private school vouchers.
While some Democrats are thrilled to see Harris leaning into her background as a prosecutor, some liberals are calling on her to address mass incarceration and to drop her prosecutor vs. criminal line against Trump.
Harris is backtracking on another 2020 position, saying she no longer believes in a federal jobs guarantee, which is part of the Green New Deal.
There are questions about whether Harris’ reversal on a fracking ban will play in Rust Belt states, such as Pennsylvania.
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