Osaka, June 28
President Donald Trump came face to face with Russia’s Vladimir Putin on Friday for the first time since the special counsel found extensive evidence of Russian interference in the 2016 US election.
When asked if he would warn Russia not to meddle in the next election, Trump wore a bit of a smile, pointed his finger at Putin and dryly said: “Don’t meddle in the election, please.” The tone of the President’s comments were immediately open to interpretation but would seem to do little to silence questions about Trump’s relationship with Russia in the aftermath of special counsel Robert Mueller’s conclusion that his campaign did not collude with Russia in 2016.
Their meeting in Japan was the first time the two sat together publicly since their summit in Helsinki nearly a year ago in which Trump pointedly did not admonish Putin over election interference and did not side with the US intelligence services over his Russian counterpart.
The leaders traded brief remarks about issues they planned to discuss when a reporter shouted if the president would tell Putin “not to meddle” in the 2020 election.
The President answered “Of course I will,” before he turned to Putin and said, “Don’t meddle in the election, please.” He playfully repeated request.
The meeting with Putin, which came amid a gauntlet of negotiations on international crises, trade wars and a growing global to-do list, was the main event on Trump’s agenda on Friday at the G20 summit in Osaka. But the President also kept an eye on the race to replace him back home, where 10 Democrats met in Miami as part of the first debates of the 2020 presidential race.
“I just passed a television set on the way here. I saw that healthcare and maximum healthcare was given to 100 per cent of the illegal immigrants coming into our country by the Democrats,” Trump said, telling German Chancellor Merkel that a debate the previous night “wasn’t very exciting.” “So I look forward to spending time with you rather than watching,” he said. Merkel did not react.
Trump had said in advance of his meeting with Putin that he expected a “very good conversation” with the Russian leader but told reporters that “what I say to him is none of your business.” His aides had grown worried that Trump could use the meeting to once again attack the Russia probe on the world stage, particularly since Mueller recently agreed to testify before the Congress next month. — AP
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