Putin Has 'Financial' Power Over Donald Trump, Nancy Pelosi Suggests

Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has said that Donald Trump's recent comments about Russia suggests that Vladimir Putin has some financial hold over the Republican primary front-runner.

Pelosi was asked by MSNBC anchor Jen Psaki—a fellow Democrat who was the former White House press secretary in the Biden administration—about Trump's reaction to the death of Russian opposition politician Alexey Navalny.

President Joe Biden is among the U.S. politicians who have condemned Putin for Navalny's death in a prison camp and holds the Russian leader responsible.

But Psaki told Pelosi she was struck by the three days it took for Trump to comment about Navalny's death and when he did, he did not condemn the Russian leader, instead comparing it to his own legal problems in a post on Truth Social.

Trump wrote that the death of Navalny at a penal colony, "has made me more and more aware of what is happening in our Country."

"It is a slow, steady progression, with CROOKED, Radical Left Politicians, Prosecutors, and Judges leading us down a path to destruction," he added.

The former speaker said that Trump's statement was "beneath the dignity of a human being" and should "disqualify him from running for anything, much less president of the United States."

"You wonder, what does Putin have on Donald Trump that he always has to be beholden to him, his buddy... in vileness?" said Pelosi.

Trump has taken repeated swipes at NATO and his comments during a rally in South Carolina on February 10 sparked concern about the U.S. role in the alliance should the Republican retake the White House. He suggested that he would "encourage (Russia) to do whatever the hell they want" to NATO members not meeting a defense spending commitment of 2 percent of GDP.

Pelosi continued: "What does he (Putin) have on Donald Trump that he would have to constantly be catering to Putin, telling Putin, go into these countries, NATO countries?

"I don't know what he has on him, but I think it's probably financial. I think it's probably financial, either something financial he has on him or something that he expects to get."

Newsweek has contacted the Trump team for comment.

As previously reported, Pelosi told Newsweek on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference that the prospect of a second Trump presidency is "not going to happen" as she took aim at the GOP front-runner, describing him as "grotesque."

In response, Trump campaign spokesperson Steven Cheung previously told Newsweek in an emailed statement: "Does Nancy Pelosi know where she is half the time?" and that "Under President Trump there was peace and prosperity."

Pelosi's comments come as Trump holds a 23-point lead over former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley in South Carolina, less than a week out from the state's GOP presidential primary.

A survey from Emerson College Polling/The Hill released Tuesday found that 58 percent of the state's primary voters said they backed Trump compared with 35 percent who supported Haley.