'Trump loses his hostage': Biden applauded for release of Gershkovich and Whelan

The Biden administration has secured the release of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich and former U.S. Marine Paul Whelan from Russian prisons as part of a prisoner swap, which wipes away one of Donald Trump's baffling campaign promises.

The men had been jailed on espionage charges they both deny, and the U.S. State Department has designated them as wrongly detained, and the Kremlin may also release Russian-British dissident Vladimir Kara-Murza, who was convicted of treason for criticizing the Ukraine invasion, as part of the swap.

Trump had raised eyebrows by suggesting multiple times that he had a deal in place with Vladimir Putin to release the journalist from detention if he's re-elected, saying the Russian president "will do that for me, and I don't believe he'll do it for anyone else," but president Joe Biden beat him to the punch and got the pair released.

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It's not clear what terms the U.S. agreed to in exchange for the release of Gershkovich and Whelan, but social media users agreed their release was a win for Biden.

"WHOA. Another huge accomplishment from the #BidenHarris administration," said A.J. Delgado, a former Trump campaign aide in 2016 who's become an outspoken critic.

"Trump loses his hostage as Evan Gershkovich is released," said Eric Columbus, former litigator for the U.S. House general counsel.

"Narrator…'But he did do it for someone else,'" said former congressman Adam Kinzinger.

"Wonderful to see release of Michigan’s Paul Whelan and ⁦@WSJ⁩ reporter Evan Gershkovich from Russia," said legal analyst Barbara McQuade.

"Trump can eat s---," said author Elon Green.

"Gershkovich release is great news - and interesting that Putin did it now eviscerating Trump’s vile claim that he would get Gershkovich freed at once if elected as a trophy from the Kremlin," saidThe New Yorker's Philip Gourevitch.

"Thank goodness Evan Gershkovich, Paul Whelan, and others are being released from Russia due to the work of the Biden-Harris Administration and our allies," said attorney Mujeeb Shah-Khan. "So, guessing Mr. Trump doesn’t have the leverage he thought he did."