Former President Donald Trump claimed in May that he was the only person who could secure the release of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich from a Russian prison. However, President Joe Biden proved this claim wrong by negotiating a multi-country prisoner exchange that led to Gershkovich’s release. Trump expressed skepticism on social media about the exchange, questioning whether murderers, killers, or thugs were being released and criticizing the negotiators for what he perceived as bad deals.
Contrary to Trump’s claim that he gave nothing to secure the release of American prisoners, fact-checking reveals that Trump presided over at least four prisoner exchanges during his presidency. These exchanges involved releasing prisoners from US detention in exchange for foreign governments releasing Americans, contradicting Trump’s assertion that he never gave anything in return. The Biden administration clarified that no money was exchanged and no sanctions were loosened as part of the recent deal that resulted in Gershkovich’s release, along with others.
One exchange under Trump’s administration occurred in 2019 with Iran, where an Iranian medical scientist was released in exchange for the freedom of Xiyue Wang, a Princeton University PhD student imprisoned in Iran since 2016. Trump openly acknowledged this as a prisoner exchange, highlighting the quid pro quo nature of the deal. Similarly, a 2019 exchange with the Taliban involved the release of high-ranking Taliban prisoners in exchange for the freedom of American Kevin King and Australian Timothy Weeks, who were abducted by the Taliban in 2016.
In 2020, Trump oversaw another exchange with Iran that led to the release of Navy veteran Michael White in exchange for an Iranian-American doctor who violated US sanctions on Iran by trying to export a medical device without authorization. Additionally, two Americans imprisoned by Iran-backed Houthi militants in Yemen were released in exchange for the freedom of over 200 Houthi militants held in Oman. Trump’s involvement in these exchanges contradicts his claim to have never given anything in exchange for the release of American prisoners.
An attempted exchange in 2018 with Turkey involved Trump negotiating for the release of American pastor Andrew Brunson by getting Israel to free a Turkish citizen accused of aiding Hamas. Despite initial delays, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan eventually released Brunson, prompting Trump to claim that no deal was made for the hostage’s release. However, previous statements from Trump’s administration indicated that there had been discussions of a deal, highlighting the complexities of negotiating for the release of prisoners in international diplomacy.
