Putin, With Whom Trump Joked About ‘Fake News,’ Has Seen 26 Journalists Murdered During His Reign
President Donald Trump joked about “fake news” journalists with Russian President Vladimir Putin, who leads a country where more than two dozen reporters have been murdered since Putin first came to power in 1999.
During a meeting between Trump and Putin at the G-20 summit in Japan, the two joked about a shared scorn for “fake news.”
“Get rid of them,” Trump said, asking Putin if they had a problem with that in Russia.
“We also have. … It’s the same,” Putin answered in English. Both men laughed.
According to the Committee to Protect Journalists, 42 journalists have been killed in Russia from 2000 to 2019. Of those 42 people, the data indicates 26 of them were murdered.
Trump’s joke about “fake news” also comes as American journalists commemorate the one-year anniversary of a shooting at the Capital Gazette newspaper that left five people dead.
One year ago today, 5 journalists were murdered at the Capitol Gazette. https://t.co/RgzxgjaB56
— Justin Miller (@justinjm1) June 28, 2019
During the talk, Trump also jokingly asked Putin to not meddle in upcoming U.S. elections.
Watch above, via CNN.
