I Don't Want To See You Near Upcoming U.S. Presidential Election, Trump Warns Off Putin

President Donald Trump told Russian President Vladimir Putin not to meddle in the elections – with a smile.

The president was asked at the top of a meeting Friday in Japan whether he would tell the Russian president not to interfere in the elections – as the Mueller report concludes Russia did in 2016.



'Yes, of course I will,' Trump responded.

'Don't meddle in the election, please,' Trump told Putin, with a smile on his face, turning to the Russian amid cross talk in a room packed full of reporters and dignitaries.

'Don't meddle,' Trump told Russia's President Vladimir Putin when asked about election interference during the G20 summit in Osaka on June 28, 2019
'Don't meddle,' Trump told Russia's President Vladimir Putin when asked about election interference during the G20 summit in Osaka on June 28, 2019

Earlier, Trump told reporters: 'We’ve had great meetings. We’ve had very, very good relationship. And we look forward to spending some very good time together.

'A lot of very positive things going to come out of the relationship. So Vladimir, thank you very much,' Trump said.

'A lot of very positive things going to come out of the relationship,' Trump said
The two men met for the first time since the release of the Mueller report Friday
The two men met for the first time since the release of the Mueller report Friday
The two men were seated next to each other with a floral arrangement.

Putin spoke only in broad strokes in brief comments, speaking in Russian through a translator.

'We haven't seen each other since Helsinki meeting,' Putin noted, referencing their summit meeting where Trump took heat domestically for saying he accepted Putin's denial of election interference – which is contradicted by the U.S. Intelligence Community assessment.

Before his trip to Japan, Trump said that he 'may' raise the issue of Russia's election interference.

There was an earlier show of camaraderie, as the two men chatted on the way to a 'family photo' at the G20 summit here in Osaka.

Trump patted Putin gently on the back on the way to the event, where he stood next to Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

The ribbing about election interference comes in contrast to the deadly serious tone of the Mueller report.

Mueller's report concluded after a two year investigation that: 'The Russian government interfered in the 2016 presidential election in sweeping and systematic fashion. Russia's actions “favored presidential candidate Donald J. Trump and disparaged presidential candidate Hillary Clinton.”