Nikki Haley, the only opponent of Donald Trump in the Republican primaries for the nomination in the upcoming US elections, again today attacked the former US president for his silence regarding the death of Alexei Navalny and for his hostile statements American tycoon against NATO.

“The fact that he’s not saying anything about Navalny (shows) that he’s either siding with (Russian President Vladimir) Putin and thinks it’s okay to kill his political opponents, or he’s just thinking, ‘It’s no big deal,'” said Haley on ABC.

Navalny’s death in an Arctic prison colony announced on Friday, about which the Kremlin is still remaining silent, sparked a wave of outrage from Western countries, with US President Joe Biden saying his Russian counterpart was “responsible” for death of the Russian dissident.

But Trump, who is running for a new presidential term, said nothing this weekend about Navalny’s death, Russia or Putin.

Members of his campaign team referred reporters to Trump’s latest post on his Truth Social network: “America is no longer respected because we have a president who is incompetent, weak and doesn’t understand what the people are thinking.”

Haley, a former US ambassador to the UN under the Trump administration (2017-2021) and former governor of South Carolina, where the Republican primary will be held on February 24, also criticized the “creepy” statements made by Trump last year Weekend against solidarity mechanisms among NATO allies.

Trump said a week ago that the US might not protect NATO allies that do not spend enough on defense against a possible Russian invasion.

“All he did at the time was strengthen Putin,” Haley said.

“Let’s remind the American people that Putin has stated that once he takes over Ukraine, Poland and the Baltic countries will be next (…) These are NATO member countries and that immediately puts America in a state of war.” , Nikki Haley warned.

The Republican nominee has stepped up her attacks in recent days against her opponent and last week criticized Trump for maintaining a friendly relationship with Putin.

Trump has consistently praised Putin in recent years, calling the Russian leader a “genius” in 2022 for his decision to invade neighboring Ukraine, sparking a war that still rages.

Haley’s criticism of Trump in the wake of Navalny’s death comes as the Republican nominee ramps up her criticism of Trump in an effort to shrink the former president’s large lead in primaries and polls.