Trump and Putin Joke About the US Problem with “Fake News”

Start your day with TPM.
Sign up for the Morning Memo newsletter

I had missed this moment. It got overwhelmed by Trump’s joking references to election interference. But apparently while there was no US press in the room Trump joked about “fake news” and how it was a problem Russia doesn’t have but the US does.

He says “get rid of them” at the beginning of the statement, according to various press reports. But this may have been a reference to clearing the room of press, at least in a literal sense. The key is praising Russia’s approach to press management over against the US, though Putin does pipe up and say they have a “fake news” problem too.

Latest Editors' Blog
Masthead Masthead
Founder & Editor-in-Chief:
Executive Editor:
Managing Editor:
Associate Editor:
Editor at Large:
General Counsel:
Publisher:
Head of Product:
Director of Technology:
Associate Publisher:
Front End Developer:
Senior Designer: