Biden Scores Political Victory with Release of Captives Held by Russia

The release of 16 captives held by Russia, including former US Marine Paul Whelan, journalist Evan Gershkovich, and British-Russian dissident Vladimir Kara-Murza, provided a significant political victory for President Joe Biden. This comes at a time when he is still reeling from the political effects of withdrawing from the 2024 presidential race.

Kamala Harris, his vice president, is now the presumptive nominee and has taken on a starring role in the campaign. This victory couldn't have come at a better time for Biden, as his former opponent, Donald Trump, is facing increasing pressure over past statements about women made by his running mate, JD Vance.

Trump's campaign has also been unable to blunt the momentum Harris has seen out of the gate. With his new opponent quickly eating away at his polling lead, Trump appeared for a disastrous interview on Wednesday at a conference held by the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ).

a news cycle focused around him questioning the race of America's first Black vice president. On Capitol Hill, Trump's loyalist firing line has fallen silent. Once in unison attacking the president over his age and mental faculties, the GOP conferences in the House and Senate have been left divided and scattered in their response to Kamala Harris's asendancy.

Now, they're back on uncomfortable ground as they are forced to respond to the former president's racist line of attack against the vice president. The Republicans who spoke to The Independent on Thursday found themselves unwilling to directly attack Joe Biden over the news of the prisoner swap, as Trump had done on Truth Social.

Even some of Trump's closest allies couldn't bring themselves to take away the moment from the Democratic president, and instead offered lukewarm questions about what the Russians got in return. That question appears to at least so far include one convicted hitman held in Germany, as well as a few other Russian agents held in western countries including the US.

The stage is set for Kamala Harris's “honeymoon” phase to continue. Pundits, meanwhile, are increasingly coming around to the idea that the race’s trajectory could be too much for Trump to survive — especially given that Harris is set for her own four-day coronation in front of thousands of Democrats later this month.