Biden Says He Won’t Let The U.S. Continue ‘Rolling Over’ For Russia, Like Trump Did

Biden said his government will be “more effective in dealing with Russia” than the previous administration, and claimed he told Russian President Vladimir Putin as much when the two men spoke.

Biden also doubled down on previous U.S. demands to free Alexei Nalvany, the Russian opposition leader sentenced to prison Tuesday for violating parole conditions related to a 2014 conviction that Navalny and human rights watchdogs maintain was a politically motivated sham. 

Thousands of Russians have been detained by police during nationwide protests calling for Navalny’s release, the largest demonstrations the country has witnessed in decades.

“The politically-motivated jailing of Alexei Navalny and the Russian efforts to suppress freedom of expression and peaceful assembly are a matter of deep concern to us and the international community,” Biden said.

Trump’s close relationship with Putin and reports he chose to overlook threats to U.S. interests posed by Russia were a point of contention during the four years Trump spent in the White House.