Jean-Pierre got into a back-and-forth with the reporter who, like former President Donald Trump, questioned why the U.S. freed arms dealer Viktor Bout for Griner in the exchange.
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Jean-Pierre told Doocy that America’s options to negotiate with Russia boiled down to two choices: bring home Griner or no one at all.
Doocy, however, decided to dig deeper at the exchange.
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“And they gave up a professional athlete,” Doocy said. “We gave up a prolific arms dealer who was convicted of trying to kill Americans, who is called the ‘Merchant of Death.’”
Jean-Pierre later responded: “The ‘professional athlete’ is also an American citizen, so let’s not forget that.”
