“The View” co-host Ana Navarro said Monday that WNBA star Brittney Griner was released in part because she is a black, gay and a tall female.
Griner was released Thursday in exchange for notorious arms dealer Viktor Bout, also known as the “Merchant of Death.” The trade has received backlash as former Marine Paul Whelan, who has been held in Russian detention since 2018, was not released.
Navarro hit back at critics who apparently allege that Griner was only brought home because progressive activists preyed on identity politics.
“It really also irritated me how they tried to make it, you know, that so-called identity politics: ‘They’re doing this because the progressive groups are pushing because she’s black, because she’s gay.’ Yeah, you know what because she’s black, gay and 7-foot tall and they had her in a cage!” Navarro said.
“Because she’s American, don’t forget that part,” co-host Whoopi Goldberg chimed in. (RELATED: ‘The View’ Co-Host Ana Navarro Claims Trump And Tucker Could Fly To Russia To Free Paul Whelan)
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“We can say we need Brittney Griner back and recognize this does put a target on people’s back when they go to travel, and that’s why I would say people should know now before you take trips the geopolitics of an area because at this point, they can write the story later and grasp you first, and that’s pretty much what they did with Brittney,” co-host Sara Haines chimed in.
“They took her, and when they call her a celebrity by the way. I did not know a lot about her. She was wrongly convicted where they snatched her and decided to tell us what she did wrong.”
The White House has remained adamant that they had the sole choice to release Griner or no one.
“The professional athlete is also an American citizen, so let’s not forget that who deserved, and I’ve explained how the Russians have illegally treated, totally illegitimately treated his situation,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre recently said. “I’ve been very clear on that, we’ve laid that out for you and again, the president felt that this was an opportunity to bring Brittney home. He is going to do everything he can to bring Paul Whelan home just like he did with Trevor Reed.”