Donald Trump came in for the opening group photo of the G-20 meeting in Japan walking along with Vladimir Putin. However, he couldn’t get next to Putin in the shot, so instead he snuggled up next to noted bone-saw fan Saudi prince Mohammed bin Salman. But if that seemed disrespectful to those who are actually concerned about the dismemberment and murder of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi … it was only a warm-up.
During the public part of his get-together with Vladimir Putin, Trump was apparently miffed that a reporter dared to ask about Russian interference in the 2016 election. Following his snickering response to that question, Trump gestured to the assembled press.
“Get rid of them,” said Trump. “Fake news is a great term, isn't it? You don’t have this problem in Russia, but we do.”
“We also have,” Putin replied. “It’s the same.”
It’s hilarious because over 200 journalists have been murdered in Russia under Putin, while dozens more have simply disappeared. And yes, they do have names. In 2018 alone, that includes a journalist who died after being hurled from an apartment window after reporting on corruption in the Russian government; a television journalist stabbed in the street after a commentary; a newspaper reporter missing for two weeks before his body was left for his friends; and an evening news host who mysteriously fell in a river and drowned on his way home from work.
It’s not clear if Trump shared his same concerns about pesky journalists with Mohammed bin Salman. But considering the level of the jokes he delivered in the opening day of the G-20, it seems entirely possible. On Monday, Trump declared that the Middle East is a “hostile, vicious place” and announced that he would not ask the FBI to investigate the murder of Khashoggi, while touting his relationship with MBS.