Donald Trump defends Barack Obama, slams Chelsea Manning as ‘ungrateful traitor’

Manning, whose 35-year sentence for leaking classified information to WikiLeaks was commuted by Barack Obama as one of his last acts as president, now has a column in The Guardian.

In her first column for the newspaper, Manning attacked Mr Obama as a weak leader with “few permanent accomplishments”.

“The one simple lesson to draw from President Obama’s legacy: do not start off with a compromise,” Manning wrote. “They won’t meet you in the middle. Instead, what we need is an unapologetic progressive leader.”

Mr Trump, who has also been critical of Mr Obama and his administration, said Manning’s criticism of the former president was “terrible.”

“Ungrateful TRAITOR Chelsea Manning, who should have never been released from prison, is now calling President Obama a weak leader. Terrible,” he wrote.

Ungrateful TRAITOR Chelsea Manning, who should never have been released from prison, is now calling President Obama a weak leader. Terrible!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 26, 2017

Manning, a transgender woman, also criticised Mr Obama for his response to the Pulse nightclub attack in Orlando, which targeted gay and lesbian patrons on Latin night.

“In the aftermath of the deadly shooting at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando that took the lives of nearly 50 queer and brown people, it took Obama over 300 words of his speech to acknowledge the queer community, and even then, as an abstract acronym,” she said.

Australian Julian Assange had said that he would be extradited to the US from the Ecuadorean embassy in London if Manning was released. However, he has flip flopped on whether he will honour his promise.
Manning is set to be released from prison in May.