Nikki Haley blasts Trump for relationship with Putin after Navalny's death

Washington: Republican presidential contender Nikki Haley slammed Donald Trump on Friday for maintaining an amiable relationship with Vladimir Putin, after the Russian president's most formidable opponent, Alexei Navalny, died in a prison colony on Friday.

"Donald Trump continues to side with Vladimir Putin - a man who kills his political opponents, holds American journalists hostage, and has never hidden his desire to destroy America," Haley said in a statement released by her campaign.

Trump has praised Putin on and off for years, calling the Russian leader a "genius" in 2022 for his decision to invade neighboring Ukraine, igniting a war that is still raging.

Navalny's death was reported by the Russian prison service.

The 47-year-old lawyer rose to prominence more than a decade ago by speaking publicly - and documenting - what he said was the vast corruption and opulence among the "crooks and thieves" who ran Putin's Russia. Many Western leaders accused the Kremlin of murder regarding Navalny. They produced no evidence, but Putin's enemies have a history of dying under opaque circumstances.

Haley's comments come as she has ratcheted up her criticism of Trump, in a bid to eat into the former president's overwhelming lead in all national and state-level primary polls. In recent weeks, she has unleashed acid attacks on his character and his mental competency, and blasted him for cozying up to dictators.

In a separate post on X, formerly Twitter, Haley blamed Putin for Navalny's death and took another jab at Trump.

"Putin did this," she wrote. "The same Putin who Donald Trump praises and defends."

A representative for Trump's campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment.