ABC’s Rachel Scott Says She Was ‘Swarmed’ By Russian Reporters After Grilling Putin at Presser
ABC’s Rachel Scott reflected on the tough questions she asked President Vladimir Putin during his press conference in Geneva — revealing she was “swarmed” by Russian reporters following the grilling.
During the Wednesday news conference, Scott confronted Putin on the “long” list of Kremlin critics who have ended up dead or imprisoned — specifically focusing on Alexei Navalny.
“What are you so afraid of?” Scott asked.
“We do not wish this kind of thing should happen on our territory and we will do our utmost to prevent it,” Putin said. “Fears — I don’t want to talk about that, that’s absolutely irrelevant.”
“You didn’t answer my question, sir,” Scott replied. “If all of your political opponents are dead, in prison, or poisoned, doesn’t that send a message that you do not want a fair political fight?”
Putin proceeded to draw parallels between his suppression of critics and political opposition to the insurrectionists who were arrested for storming the United States Capitol on January 6th.
Scott joined Robin Roberts on Thursday morning to address her exchange with Putin, noting that President Joe Biden called the comparison Putin offered “ridiculous.”
“No response from the Kremlin this morning,” Scott added. “They are really just allowing Putin’s words to speak for themselves. But I can tell you, after leaving that press conference, Robin, I was swarmed by a few Russian reporters. They wanted to know I was satisfied by his answer.”
Scott went on to say that there was a lot of “intrigue” regarding the American reporters in the room, which she had previously referred to in a Twitter thread detailing her experience:
And while most of the White House press corps was scurried away, the Russian press stuck around, continued reporting — even as the leaders arrived. pic.twitter.com/iVlwwuDPNJ
— Rachel Scott (@rachelvscott) June 16, 2021
“My response is ‘No comment,'” Scott added when Roberts asked about her reaction to the Russian press. “Look, this is our job. The job is to ask tough questions. We have a responsibility as journalists, regardless of who the leader is or what country we are in. So no comment, and that’s what we’ll continue to do, Robin.”
Watch above, via ABC News.
