Trump Lightheartedly to Putin: Don’t Interfere in US Election

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div>U.S. President Donald Trump gave Russian President Vladimir Putin a light-hearted warning not to interfere again in American elections.

Appearing before reporters during his bilateral meeting with Putin on the sidelines of the G-20 summit in Osaka, Japan, Trump was asked whether he would tell the Russian leader to not meddle in the U.S. electoral process.

“Yes, of course I will,” replied Trump who then, with a smile on his face, turned to the Russian president to say: “Don’t meddle in the election, president.” He then repeated “don’t meddle in the election,” while pointing a finger at Putin.

The exchange is likely to reinforce a perception among many that Trump does not take the issue seriously.

First post-Mueller report meeting

It was the first meeting between the two leaders since special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation concluded there was no conspiracy or coordination between Trump’s 2016 presidential election campaign and Russian government officials.

Three U.S. intelligence agencies, however, jointly stated they were highly confident that Moscow orchestrated a sophisticated campaign to influence the election.