July 7, 2017

Donald Trump Just Shared a Cozy Joke With Vladimir Putin

About what else? The media.

Mikhail Klimentyev/Zuma

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A Russian journalist and member of the Kremlin press pool reports that during the photo-op before the much-anticipated Putin-Trump meeting at the G20 summit, he heard Russian President Vladimir Putin ask a question in English of President Donald Trump. With the cameras clicking and journalists yelling out questions, Putin leaned over and, gesturing with his thumb toward the American reporters, asked Trump, according to a tweet from Dmitri Smirnov of Komsomolskaya Pravda, “Are these the ones who insulted you?” With the reporters being ushered out, Trump replied, “These are the ones.” Putin leaned back and laughed, and with a chuckle Trump seemed to add, “You’re right about that.”

Here’s the clip from Smirnov: 

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We just keep seeing it happen: Newsrooms owned by billionaires and corporations are spinning their own narratives, overwriting the truth, following only stories that keep them in the pocket of those with even more power.

Not here. We’re not owned by anyone. We’re not part of any cult that demands our allegiance to a bottom line. We’ve spoken up and spoken out while other newsrooms changed their stories—or cut them altogether—to keep the C suite happy.

Our mission is to find the truth and amplify it. That’s why we’re independent, nonprofit, and, crucially, funded by readers. The investigations on our website will always be free to read, watch, and listen to, but our newsroom is powered by readers who pitch in what they can so we can keep asking the hard questions.

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