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Donald Trump has met with Russian president Vladimir Putin at the G20 in Osaka, Japan, wagging a finger at his Kremlin counterpart and saying, at the prompting of reporters and in a jovial manner: “Don’t meddle in the election.”
The pair bonded over their shared contempt for journalists on a long day of talks with fellow world leaders covering Iran, trade and defence spending before sitting down to an elegant banquet - where Mr Trump was seen slugging a huge glass of non-alcoholic wine - as the first day of the summit drew to a close.
That was one day after the Russian leader praised the president of the United States for his nationalist world views and vigorously declared the days of the West’s liberals are dying if not already dead.
For some time, Mr Trump has defied the once-entrenched Republican distrust if not outright hatred of the powerful nation at the heart of the former Soviet Union. But Friday’s joint appearance seemed to go even further.
As the two leaders sat down for their first meeting in nearly a year, a reporter asked Mr Trump if he would warn Putin not to meddle in America’s upcoming 2020 election.
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The exchange at the Group of 20 summit in Osaka echoed one of the defining moments of Mr Trump’s presidency from a year ago in Helsinki, Finland. There, he pointedly did not admonish Mr Putin about election interference and did not side with US intelligence agencies over his Russian counterpart.
Mr Putin disputes special counsel Robert Mueller’s conclusion that Russia interfered in the 2016 US election to help Mr Trump win. Mr Putin told the Financial Times this week that it was “mythical interference.”
“What happened in reality? Mr Trump looked into his opponents’ attitude to him and saw changes in American society and he took advantage of this,” Mr Putin told the newspaper.
Meanwhile, in the second Democratic Party presidential debate in Miami, Florida, the standout moment of the night came when California senator Kamala Harris laid into former vice president Joe Biden over his “hurtful” recent remarks about being able to work with segregationists he disagreed with earlier in his career, reminding the veteran of the harmful legacy of their stance.
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Donald Trump quipping about “fake news” with Vladimir Putin has drawn backlash online, as well as from leading 2020 Democratic candidates, who shot back at the president’s disdain for a free press while meeting with the Russian president.
“Today, Trump joked with Putin about interfering in our elections. He joked about getting ‘rid of’ journalists with a man who has reporters murdered,” Elizabeth Warren said in a statement. “The president is looking out for himself—not the American people. We need a president who will always stand up for American values.”
Former President Jimmy Carter held nothing back during a talk today when he reportedly suggested Donald Trump was an illegitimate president, saying a complete investigation "would show that TRump didn't actually win in 2016."
"He was put into office because the Russians interfered," Mr Carter added.
Jimmy Carter has publicly questioned the legitimacy of Donald Trump’s election in 2016 at a public discussion on Friday.
The former president was speaking on a human rights panel in Virginia when he made the statements that drew sift national headlines.
“There is no doubt that the Russians did interfere in the election,” Mr Carter began.
“I think the interference, though not yet quantified, if fully investigated would show that Trump didn't actually win the election in 2016,” he continued. “[Trump] lost the election and he was put into office because the Russians interfered on his behalf."
The former president did not offer any evidence while making the statements on Friday morning.
An investigatory subcommittee has been launched to understand the meaning behind a Trump-ally's comments about an alleged affair the president's former lawyer Michael Cohen may have had -
James Alex Fields Jr, a hate-filled man who drove into a group of activists protesting white nationalists and killed protestor Heather Heyer, has been sentenced to life in prison for his crimes.
A federal judge ruled Fields should get life in prison for killing Ms Heyer and injuring over two dozen others at the 2017 rallies in Charlottesville, Virginia.
Fields deliberately drove his car into the crowd that had gathered to demonstrate against a nearby white nationalist rally.
Donald Trump sparked controversy when he blamed the violence at the rally on "both sides," a statement critics saw as a refusal to condemn racism.
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