Donald Trump isn’t Alexei Navalny. He wasn’t poisoned or beaten or tortured, then left to die in a Siberian gulag. We aren’t under the control of a dictator like Putin. But there is no getting around the ugly truth that none of this would happen if Biden weren’t trailing Trump in the polls. News of Navalny’s death sent shockwaves through both sides of the political aisle, as each tried to grapple with the many conflicts we’re now facing, the war in Ukraine and the war on Donald Trump, but it’s the Democrats whose actions of late were put into the spotlight. Only one political party is actively trying to jail its primary political opponent, has thrown political protesters in solitary confinement, and violated the First Amendment by censoring speech on social media. How would they shapeshift their way out of this problem? It’s easy. They don’t even respect the people enough to be honest with them. Instead, they rationalize it, “Trump committed actual crimes,” they said. “Trump’s the one who chanted Lock Her Up,” they insist, as if chanting is the same as doing. Similarly, most Russians believe Navalny committed “actual crimes” because that’s the power of taking complete control of the media narrative. Putin charged him as an extremist and with “fraud,” just as our government has done to Trump. This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit sashastone.substack.com/subscribe