With a smile and an accusing finger, President Donald Trump joked and warned Russian President Vladimir Putin: “Do not Meddle in the election”, in his first meeting since the special prosecutor concluded that Russia had broad interference in the 2016 election campaign.
The tone of the president, in response to a reporter who asked him if he would warn Putin, immediately opened the way for interpretation. However, it seems that it will do little to quell doubts about Trump’s relationship with Russia following the conclusion of special prosecutor Robert Mueller that he could not establish a criminal conspiracy between the Trump campaign and Russia.
It was Trump’s most recent notable moment with Putin after the meeting almost a year ago in Helsinki, considered one of the defining moments of the Trump presidency, when he intentionally did not admonish Putin for electoral interference and also took sides against United States intelligence agencies on the subject.
The leaders exchanged brief comments on Friday on issues they planned to discuss when a reporter asked Trump if he would warn Putin not to interfere in the 2020 elections.
“Sure,” the president replied. Then he turned to Putin and sarcastically said, “Do not interfere in the election.” He repeated the request, pointing to Putin, who was laughing.
Putin has repeatedly denied the conclusion of Mueller’s report that Russia interfered in the 2016 US elections and told the Financial Times newspaper earlier this week that it was a “mythical interference.”
According to Putin, what really happened is that Trump saw changes in American society and took advantage of them.
The Russian president also praised Trump for trying to contain the flow of migrants and drugs from Mexico.
Putin has highlighted national populist movements in Europe and the United States and told the newspaper that he believes that liberalism – the predominant political ideology in the West since the end of World War II – is dead.
“This liberal idea presupposes that nothing should be done, that migrants can kill, plunder and rape with impunity because their rights as migrants must be protected,” Putin said.
The meeting between the leaders – which took place during a storm of negotiations over international crises, trade wars and a growing list of pending global issues – was Trump’s main event on Friday during the G20 summit in Osaka.
