He Said, He Said
Trump and Putin just held what was one of the world’s most anticipated meetings. But with only six people in the room, we’re not likely to get a lot of details about what went down during an exchange that ran about two hours longer than scheduled (Sec of State Tillerson said, “There was so much to talk about. Neither one of them wanted to stop.”) Here’s what we know so far. Trump brought up the election tampering issues, and Putin denied involvement. (Meanwhile, Russians are now the leading suspects in US nuclear site hackings.) Putin at one point gestured to reporters and joked, “These are the ones who insulted you?” (Which is less hilarious when you consider the joke teller’s history with journalists in his own country). Prior to the meeting, Russia and the US reached their latest Syrian cease-fire deal. Because the meeting involved only a few players, the post-meeting positioning will be an important aspect to watch, as both leaders seek to convince their constituents that they had the upper hand. Here’s the latest on the meeting and other key moments at the G20.
+ In a pretty remarkable twist, Trump seemed to find more common ground with Putin than with his European counterparts. From climate to trade, things were tense.
+ While Trump the president was preparing for the biggest meeting of his political career, Trump the tweeter was going off on something about John Podesta and the DNC server.
+ Was this a first date, or just another reunion? We may never know. From WaPo: How well does Trump know Putin? A chronology.
+ As is often the case at such gatherings, protestors played a serious role.
+ While the world awaited the Putin/Trump handshake, Angela Merkel stole the show with an eye-roll that was nothing short of historic.