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Many Republicans lined up to condemn President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia on Friday after Russian authorities reported the death of Aleksei A. Navalny, the outspoken opposition leader.

But Nikki Haley went further, using criticism of Mr. Putin to attack former President Donald J. Trump, her rival in the G.O.P. primary, for his past remarks that praised Mr. Putin.

Putin did this. The same Putin who Donald Trump praises and defends, Ms. Haley, a former governor of South Carolina who served Mr. Trumps ambassador to the United Nations, wrote on the social media platform X on Friday.

She referenced comments that Mr. Trump made in 2015, during his first run for president, when he told ABCs George Stephanopoulos that, In all fairness to Putin, youre saying he killed people. I havent seen that.

Russian authorities announced on Friday that Mr. Navalny, an anticorruption activist who was openly critical of Mr. Putin and was serving multiple sentences that would likely have kept him in prison until 2031, had died in a prison inside the Arctic Circle. President Biden said on Friday afternoon that U.S. officials did not have a full understanding of the situations circumstances, but that he believed there is no doubt that the death of Navalny was a consequence of something that Putin and his thugs did.

Mr. Trump has not yet commented publicly on Mr. Navalnys death, prompting Ms. Haley to also seize on his silence. In another post to X, she wrote that, Putin murdered his political opponent and Trump hasnt said a word after he said he would encourage Putin to invade our allies. He has, however, posted 20+ times on social media about his legal drama and fake polls.

Since reports of Mr. Navalnys death surfaced Friday morning, Mr. Trump delivered posts on Truth Social that criticized Fani T. Willis, the prosecutor in his Georgia election interference case; said that the world had experienced misery, destruction, and death during Mr. Bidens term in office; and promoted his appearance at Sneakercon in Philadelphia on Saturday. But as of Friday afternoon, there was no mention of Mr. Putin or Mr. Navalny.

Ms. Haley has been increasingly critical of Mr. Trumps approach to foreign policy, and specifically his attitude toward Mr. Putin. She told voters at recent stops in South Carolina that Mr. Trump had taken the side of a thug, after the former president said in South Carolina last weekend that he might encourage Russia to attack N.A.T.O. allies delinquent on payments to the military alliance.

Her campaign issued a statement later on Friday that attempted to further connect Mr. Trumps past praise to his recent comments.

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, Ms. Haley said. Trump continues to side with Putin over our allies and our military service members.

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After Report of Navalny Death, Haley Attacks Trump Over Past Praise for Putin - The New York Times