Trump news: Jimmy Carter questions president's legitimacy as POTUS jokes with Putin about election interference

President laughs with Vladimir Putin about ousting journalists at G20 summit in Japan

Trump jokes to Putin during G20 meeting in Japan: 'don't meddle in US election'

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.

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.

Additional reporting by AP. Please allow a moment for our liveblog to load

Key Points

• Trump bonds with Putin and slugs non-alcoholic wine at G20 banquet
• President tells Russian counterpart: 'Don't meddle in the election'
• Xi warns Iran 'at crossroads of war and peace'
• Twitter threatens to restrict political trolling
• Kamala Harris attacks Joe Biden over race in Dem debate

[28 June 2019 20:30 · Chris Riotta]

Here's my story on Jimmy Carter's fighting words towards Donald Trump:

[28 June 2019 20:50 · Chris Riotta]

The White House has been placed on lockdown as Secret Service agents investigate a "suspicious package", the third such security alert there in recent weeks.

[28 June 2019 21:10 · Chris Riotta]

Here's video of former President Jimmy Carter questioning the legitimacy of Donald Trump's presidency during a public discussion on human rights - 

[28 June 2019 21:20 · Chris Riotta]

Here's Bernie Sanders discussing his vote today in the US Senate as an effort to avoid the Trump administration heading to war with Iran:

[28 June 2019 21:30 · Chris Riotta]

This concludes today's live coverage on the Trump administration. Be sure to check back next week as The Independent brings you the latest from the White House.