Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich and former US Marine Paul Whelen, both of whom have been languishing in the Soviet, I mean, Russian prisons for years on trumped-up espionage charges, have been released. It appears that their release is part of a larger, multi-nation prisoner swap that includes the exchange of prisoners from Germany, Great Britain, the US, and Slovenia on the one side and Russia and Belarus on the other.

The basis for the suspicion about the multi-national, multi-prisoner release is the sudden disappearance and possible removal of prisoners in Russia from their places of incarceration and, as-of-yet unconfirmed reports online “that at least six special Russian government planes had flown to and from the regions where their prisons were located.”

Additionally, a host of Russians imprisoned in the U.S. are no longer in the U.S. Federal Bureau of Prisons database.

Both Gershkovich’s and Whelan’s releases are long overdue, along with the as-yet-unreported release of former teacher Marc Vogel, convicted in 2022 for possession of pot. It is a badge of shame that these men have languished in Soviet Gulags, I mean, Russian prisons, for as long as they have.

Image: Evan Gershkovich. YouTube screen grab.

If they and several other wrongfully imprisoned Americans are indeed freed and returned (one hopes in good health), let’s not overlook the timing of this. By agreeing to this prisoner swap, Putin is signaling his support for Harris. He knows a Harris presidency is a continuation of a weak America on all fronts, foreign and domestic, which makes room for increased Russian (and Chinese) hegemony.

There can be no doubt this is a campaign ploy by Biden and Harris so they can brag on the campaign trail about their foreign policy prowess and strength and look tough on crime, tough on foreign policy, and tough on Russian oligarchs—whitewashing their history of pusillanimity, of bending the knee and bending over to our enemies while kicking our allies in the behind.

Russians, in particular former Soviets, think Americans are stupid, and they themselves are brilliant. When I lived in St. Petersburg, this was one of many things I detested among the people I met there. It is in that spirit that Putin will likely continue to think he is the most clever guy in the room for this move, but the reality is he just played his hand: he fears Trump and a Trump presidency.

He knows Trump will push him to end the war with Ukraine, a war Putin wants to continue until Ukraine is either crushed into submission or obliterated in its current form.

He knows Trump will again cripple the Russian economy by providing American energy to the Europeans.

He knows Trump will strengthen a faltering US economy and that an economically healthy America with strong leadership threatens Putin, his ally China, and their terrorist allies in the Middle East.

He knows Trump will not hesitate to employ economic sanctions and any other tools available to make life difficult for Putin’s brand of Soviet-style, I mean, oligarchical governance.

He knows America is likely to find her center under a Trump presidency and return to normalcy in the culture wars, making her more united and stronger, whereas Harris will plunge America into deeper despair and cultural chaos, allowing her enemies to move in for the kill.

Putin trembles at the possibility of a Trump Administration. What do we do with that information?

Celebrate the release and regained freedom of these Americans, but remind your friends that when they step into the voting booth, a vote for Harris is a vote for Putin and China, and a vote for Trump is a vote for America.