WATCH: Russian Media Is Laughing at the U.S. Over Griner Swap

It’s been said many times that the Brittney Griner swap for the Russian terrorist Viktor Bout was an embarrassment for the United States. How does one justify trading Griner, held up on a ridiculously trivial drug possession charge, in exchange for the so-called “Merchant of Death” and call that equitable trade?

Freeing Bout was an abhorrent move regardless, but it seems very likely — despite its denials — that the Biden administration was given a choice, and it chose to free Griner, who was arrested in Russia earlier this year, over Paul Whelan, the former Marine who has been in a Russian prison for four years on bogus charges.

The Biden administration clearly saw more marketing value in freeing Griner, and that choice is ripe for mockery everywhere. Even the state-controlled Russian media is mocking the United States for trading Griner instead of Whelan.

In a video posted to YouTube, a Russian news program host acknowledged the three reasons why Whelan was the less desirable prisoner to swap.

“His first problem is that he is white,” the moderator pointed out. “His second problem is he is a man. His third problem: He is a heterosexual.”

“This is not something that can be forgiven today,” the host continued. “It’s just a catastrophe. Yes, here Griner beats him in every aspect.”

There were plenty of details the moderator got wrong, but the exchange proves how obvious the Biden administration’s obsession with identity politics is.


So, while the Biden administration celebrates and tries to milk the release of Griner as a huge diplomatic victory, the sad truth is that the world is laughing at us.