Donald Trump ‘had to apologize’ to Vladimir Putin because of ‘fake news’

G20 summit - Arrivals

As I previewed yesterday, Donald Trump finally broke his silence about his two-hour meeting with Vladimir Putin at the G20 conference. Following the meeting, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson tried to sell one version of what went down, and Russian diplomat Sergey Lavrov sold another version. Even Putin spoke to the press afterwards, and Trump did not. As many pointed out, it seems like there were zero reliable narrators in the room, but if anything, Lavrov’s version of the meeting seems to be the closest to the truth. Well, Trump finally “spoke.” By that I mean he tweeted. His tweets read like the rantings of a treasonous madman. Here’s what he wrote (I’m not going to embed this mess):

The G 20 Summit was a great success for the U.S. – Explained that the U.S. must fix the many bad trade deals it has made. Will get done!

I strongly pressed President Putin twice about Russian meddling in our election. He vehemently denied it. I’ve already given my opinion…….We negotiated a ceasefire in parts of Syria which will save lives. Now it is time to move forward in working constructively with Russia!

Putin & I discussed forming an impenetrable Cyber Security unit so that election hacking, & many other negative things, will be guarded….and safe. Questions were asked about why the CIA & FBI had to ask the DNC 13 times for their SERVER, and were rejected, still don’t……have it. Fake News said 17 intel agencies when actually 4 (had to apologize). Why did Obama do NOTHING when he had info before election?

Sanctions were not discussed at my meeting with President Putin. Nothing will be done until the Ukrainian & Syrian problems are solved!

[From Donald Trump’s Twitter]

This is insane, even with our “new normal” of Bizarro-World Trumplandia. Putin “vehemently denied” meddling… and I guess Trump accepts his word, rather than the word of all of those American intelligence agencies. Fired federal prosecutor Preet Bahara noted sarcastically on Twitter: “When pursuing a corrupt politician, mobster or murderer on strong FBI evidence, if he ‘vehemently denied it,’ we just dropped it usually.” Exactly. And then Trump goes on to say that he and Putin agreed that the DNC should have turned over their server. Sure. This goes along with Trump claiming that everyone was talking about John Podesta, a claim which was refuted by his own staffers, who told the Daily Beast that Trump was just wandering around the G20 conference, making up nonsense about Democrats.

But the really awful part of this sh-tstorm tweetstorm was this: “Fake News said 17 intel agencies when actually 4 (had to apologize).” Trump apologized to Putin because American media outlets reported (correctly) that Russia hacked the election. That is… disgusting. I don’t have words. TRUMP APOLOGIZED. To the man who destroyed America.

Here are a few more things of note. One, this Australian journalist rips America a new one. We deserve this.

Here’s Richard Engel assessing the body count amongst Putin’s enemies:

I need a stiff drink. Lord help us all.

Photos courtesy of Getty, WENN.

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47 Responses to “Donald Trump ‘had to apologize’ to Vladimir Putin because of ‘fake news’”

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  1. Esmom says:

    When the f^ck will this madness end?

    My book club and I were discussing the Handmaid’s Tale last night and naturally Trump became the main topic. I was happy to hear how anti-Trump the one Republican in our group has become. We argued a bit about whether Trump is Putin’s puppet, the GOP’s puppet, or both. And whether or not the dark money that funds him means the Mercers, Kochs, et al are run radicals or anarchists as they allow this man to run our country into the ground. So hard to get a handle on what is really happening amid so much chaos.

  2. lightpurple says:

    Chelsea Clinton, James Comey, the Mayor of NYC, and the Senate for failing to destroy healthcare are all under attack on his Twitter this morning. When he isn’t spamming himself with retweets from Fox.

    • INeedANap says:

      Why the heck is Chelsea Clinton under attack? Let the poor woman live.

      • Kate says:

        For real.

      • Christin says:

        Desperate for a distraction. If he can get the media to spend time on a crazy tweet, it’s a deflection from the latest puzzle piece of the real story.

      • holly hobby says:

        He threw all these people under the Twitter bus because Donnie Jr admitted to the press that he went to that meeting for Clinton dirty laundry. If you read his statements, he said the info was nothing and it didn’t make sense. That’s an admission.

        I hope Mueller is fully staffed to bird dog everything.

      • lol says:

        Donald Trump Jr talks too much.

  3. Shambles says:

    Even though they (the Russians AND Trump) are the ones who create and disseminate the fake news to try and trap journalists.

    (This is not a confirmed allegation. But someone has been shopping forged documents to news outlets and I have a gut feeling)

  4. Torontoe says:

    I read the “had to apologize” as meaning news for orgs (ie CNN) had retracted a story about Russia? Either way, it’s mind boggling that Trump will just believe Putin when he “vehemently denies” something…as a seasoned liar himself he should know better.

    • Megan says:

      That’s how I read it, too, but Trump is barely literate so who knows what he meant.

    • Radley says:

      Yes, I believe he’s said something similar before. But I don’t recall any news agencies apologizing and the 17 intelligence agencies assertion by the media stands. There’s government reports to back that up.

      Trump is nuts and is also in way over his head. His arrogance and ignorance could potentially not only take down his administration but his family as well. Couldn’t happen to a nicer guy. I look forward to his comeuppance.

    • Tiffany :) says:

      re: the 17 intelligence agencies from Politifact:
      http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/article/2017/jul/06/17-intelligence-organizations-or-four-either-way-r/

      “Four out of the 17 were involved in the January assessment about Russia: CIA, FBI, NSA and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, which is an umbrella agency that oversees all 17 organizations. ”

      Trump is trying to make it seem as if 13 intelligence agencies did NOT agree about the Russian assessment, but this is incredibly untrue. There were many agencies, like the Coast Guard Intelligence, that did not work on the Russian assessment. Because The Director of National Intelligence is an umbrella agency that oversees all 17 organizations, they were included in the original generalization of 17 agencies.

  5. Megan says:

    I have no doubt he is willing to accept Putin’s denials because believing a lie is so much easier than accepting the truth. That’s how he lives his entire life.

  6. Tanguerita says:

    And his boyfriend Vlad was, probably, like – “but why don’t you just kill them, useless journos, like I do? Works every time”.

    • SoItWent says:

      The “Cultural Revolution” involved shaming/criticizing then literally killing/imprisoning all dissident intellectuals and religious figures under fascist Mao Tse Tung. Lasted 20 years through about 1975, and now there is scant democracy in China. IF someone looks up “tianamnen square” online, the police will show up within minutes. Sadly I feel we are gradually falling into fascism- which doesn’t happen overnight. Thankfully the Republicans vocally reacted to the cyber alliance w Russian as inane. Is there hope?.

      • Livvers says:

        I have a coworker who immigrated from China in the last 2 years, and she tells me you can’t even search “June 4” on the internet in China, you won’t get any results. Like, June 4 1989 does not exist in China. That’s some Orwellian ish right there. And so easy to arrange if you are a government who controls internet content.

  7. grabbyhands says:

    It just blows my mind (and it really shouldn’t by now) that he wasted so much time at the G20 trashing an independent press in his OWN country, and trying to float more conspiracy theories to other world leaders despite the fact that it was obvious that no one cared. No one there is taking him seriously and he doesn’t even recognize it. He just swaggers around like he’s looking to make a real estate deal or brag about his latest TV show.

    And this is one of the most embarrassing aspects of US arrogance -that dipshits like 45 and his ilk still seem to think that America is still the biggest kid on the block and that we get to do whatever we want and that everyone is just going to bow down, no question asked. That era passed a long time ago and people here refuse to accept it. We used to have a president that accepted his role with the humility and awareness of having to play nice with others on the global stage and now that is gone.

    • Esmom says:

      I know. Did you see that Reince Priebus had the nerve to say something like Trump was clearly the “star” at the G20? He was clearly the opposite…shunned and isolated. What an embarrassment.

      • Megan says:

        I laughed my butt off when I heard that. Clearly Priebus thinks we are all really stupid.

      • Shambles says:

        They have to say that to stay in favor with their lord and savior who blesses them with the opportunity to carry out his agenda.

      • Tanguerita says:

        Yeah, Priebus is probably so happy that the orange abomination has been too busy twitting to fire him, he would say literally anything.

    • Tiffany :) says:

      ” No one there is taking him seriously and he doesn’t even recognize it. He just swaggers around like he’s looking to make a real estate deal or brag about his latest TV show.”

      Oh my goodness, the footage was sooooo embarrassing! He was acting just like the D-list reality star that he is, wondering around among the masses hoping that someone would get start struck and come beg for his attention. But that didn’t happen, he was just looking lost and lonely.

      The Australian journalist made a GREAT point: Trump should have come with an easy “win”, that the other leaders would support. Getting everyone to agree that North Korea crossed the line would have been such an easy point to score. But he’s an idiot, so no go.

  8. Nicole says:

    This is what happens when the guy occupying the biggest office (I’ve never called him by his title and as far as I know Obama is still president) is sucking Russia’s D. Literally bending over for the Kremlin. And the GOP is complicit in the treasonous actions every day. Every. damn. Day.
    When I say I loathe so many people in this country I do. They put everyone at risk to uphold whiteness. Congrats (white) America you played yourself.

  9. Who ARE these people? says:

    I live outside the US and keep wondering when people will hold a general strike.

    • IlsaLund says:

      U.S. citizens are sheep and would never band together for a general strike.

      • Who ARE These People? says:

        The workers of the US have had the nerve beaten out of them through decades of union-busting — and terrible money fears due to the Great Recession, unemployment and health-care bankruptcies; they also have health insurance still attached to employment. They used to be a feistier lot. Still, when we look at how the populace handles similar situations in other countries… by the time people realize just how bad it is, it’ll be impossible for them to protest en masse without retribution en masse.

    • Louisa says:

      I live in the US (Scottish by birth but a US citizen now) and I used to wonder the same thing, but recently I’ve come to see that most people are not even aware of any of this. I work in an office with 10 other people. Intelligent people. And no one has even mentioned it. I’d be surprised if they even knew what was going on. G20? What’s that? Conversation this morning has been about what they did at the weekend and the spider in the ladies room.
      I’m not trying to put anyone down, but that’s my experience. I love coming on this site because it makes me realize I’m not alone in my anger and disgust.

      • Trillion says:

        well, if it makes you feel any better, where I live and work (Bay Area) Trump/politics are taken VERY seriously and discussed rigorously.

  10. IlsaLund says:

    And he’s planning to run for re-election in 2020 and there are 60+ million who voted for and still support him. The U.S. has lost its leadership role on the world stage and is now a joke. Russia and China are poised to fill the vacuum left by the U.S. And the conservative Kochs, etc. are still going full tilt to enforce their vision of the U.S. on us all. We’re in a free fall, spinning towards a disastrous end.

    • Beth says:

      Hopefully he won’t run for re-election or will already be impeached. He’s already having fundraisers at his hotel to make money for his “campaign, ” but is actually just doing it to make money for his business.
      His 60+ million voters should be ashamed

      • Tanguerita says:

        you know who else should be ashamed? those who didn’t vote. 45 % of the country who didn’t use their right to decide who was going to be their president.

  11. Kiki says:

    To be off topic here.. What the F*** is Melania Trump is wearing? She’s the trophy wife and she is always on point with her fashion. What the heck is this….

    Back on topic. U.S.A is in deep s*** and they’re digging a hole. The Idiot of the free world is making America a JOKE again. Sorry America, watch out dir Russia’s superpower.

  12. Incredulous says:

    That first picture of Putin and Trump is:

    Putin – Go on Donnie, pick one of them, I will have them killed for you.

    Trump – Eeny, meeny…

  13. rachel says:

    Hmm. Kellyanne is trending on twitter, I’m not sure if I want to know why…

    • Who ARE These People? says:

      Something about how we’re not paying attention to what WASN’T discussed at that June 2016 meeting. We have to give her credit for her spin game.

      What wasn’t discussed:

      – Cheapest grocers for Honey-Nut Cheerios
      – Beavers: overpopulation issues
      – Best/worst Agatha Christie mysteries
      – How to tell if you’re a Soft Winter
      – Toilet flapper replacement
      – Why everyone’s going to Iceland
      – Ordering shoes online: returns???
      – What the “julep” means in mint julep

    • Tanguerita says:

      Oh well, Stephanopoulos confronted her with her lies from December (when she claimed on ABC that there was absolutely no contact between Trump campaign staffers and Russia) and she lied some more. Moving along, nothing to see here, just the dead carcass of US-democracy once again.

  14. Plibersek says:

    Just read the most amazing essay about President Trump by Film Crit Hulk titled Dystopia and Class Divide. I can’t recommend it highly enough.

  15. why? says:

    Trump had to apologize, he is Putin’s puppet. The 17 vs 3(they are including 4 because the DNI) intel agencies is coming from Clapper’s May testimony. Remember Clapper also stated that he didn’t see any evidence of collusion, but then had to walk it back because he wasn’t privy to everything that was going on behind the scenes. NYT and AP corrected the stories(because of Clapper’s May testimony) they had written in April, May, and June about the report that Clapper, CIA, NSA, and FBI had released in January. The “17 agencies” were first revealed in October during the debates. Hillary stated this, she said that all of them(including Trump) had been briefed several times on Russian meddling, her statement was fact checked and proven to be true. The DNI and Homeland Security also released a statement in October. This statement is not the same statement that Clapper, CIA, NSA, and FBI took a part in during December and January.

  16. why? says:

    Trump had another meltdown on twitter yesterday and today. Why? Because there are absolutely no consequences for his actions. The GOP are too afraid of what the Russians have on them to do anything about Trump. We had the press, some GOP members, and people like Evelyn F(who Trump and Spicer tried to blame for the Obama wiretap) praising Trump for “giving” a “great” speech in Poland. Trump read from a teleprompter the speech that was written by Stephen Miller(hence why many reporters said that they detected a dark vibe in the speech), the man who had a hand in writing the Muslim Ban. Why does the bar have to be set so low for Trump that reading a speech from a teleprompter is now considered presidential? I understand that many officials don’t write their speeches, but why are the press giving Trump for praise for a speech that it’s obvious that he had no hand in writing? Ivanka sits at the G20 when there are other qualified members and Nikki H, who keeps making statements about Russia, defends it.

    What really happened during the “2 hour meeting”:

    Trump definitely discussed sanctions with Russia.

    He didn’t press Putin twice or even once about the election meddling.

    Am I missing something? How can Putin and Trump negotiate a cease-fire in Syria without A being there? Did they call him up during the meeting?

    So Obama, the DNC, and the 17 intel agencies(which Trump claimed didn’t even exist) came up during the meeting with Putin? But Trump claims that he didn’t discuss sanctions with Putin!

    As far as the cyber security unit, this just means that Trump sold us out to Russia and is trying to make it even more easier to meddle with the election in 2020.

    When Trump says that it’s time to move forward and work constructively with Russia what he really means it that Russia is going to help in 2020 just like they helped him in 2016. Trump is president, so it’s obvious that their meddling worked. Trump’s approval ratings are low and he didn’t win the popular vote, without the interference of a 3rd party, Trump would have never become president.

  17. Zip says:

    The people who destroyed the USA are the ones who voted for Trump or stayed home. They enabled him. Putin just helped and Trump himself is only doing what he said he would do. It was very clear what would be happening if he became president. No surprises here.

  18. Rapunzel says:

    Trump has a lot of nerve dissing the media when he retweets James Woods and Sean Hannity.

    And where’s the apology for his lie about teaming with Putin in cyber security?

  19. Gwen says:

    I’ve never heard of so many white house staffers hiring attorneys over fake news.

  20. Monsi says:

    Trying to find a reason to explain Trump’s erratic actions and statements other than blind loyalty to Putin is just a waste of time.

    For what ever reason this is happening (money, blackmail, etc) this must be stop as soon as possible. Of course Trump is a pathetic excuse of a human being, mentally and intellectually unfit for the job he has, but, tbh, i blame the most the people that how allow this individual to become the president : the republican party and the people that voted for him. Even if he leaves office before è find his 4 year mandate the damage he has done to democratic values will take decades to heal.

    About the void in leadership, I think for the rest of the continent is important to get together to for a strong union that stands for our values and interests. The alianza del Pacífico, the Pacific alliance, between Chile, Perú, México and Colombia is getting stronger. Singapore, Canada and New Zealand are now part of it to some extent, and there are talks of a common passport in the near future at least between the Latin American countries.

    Union between countries and people are necessary to resist authorism.