An anonymous Trump official told CNN Friday that Trump did not accept Putin’s claims, but that story has changed
After President Trump and President Putin ended their on Friday, it was Russia — not the United States — that provided the press an account of the meeting. Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov told reporters Friday that Trump accepted Putin’s denial of meddling in the U. S. election. This revelation was not exactly surprising. For months, Trump has tried to distance Russia from the election hacking, telling the American people that anyone could have been behind the theft of Democratic Party emails. Later Friday, however, CNN journalist Jim Acosta reported that Trump did not actually accept Putin’s claim, citing a senior administration official who was familiar with the meeting. Because Trump did not hold a press conference like other world leaders did at the G-20 summit, Americans back at home were left wondering what actually went down in the long-awaited meeting. On Saturday, the final day of the summit, officials in the Trump administration finally talked to reporters about what they did and did not accomplish this week. Gen. H. R. McMaster, Trump’s national security adviser, was incredibly candid about his bosses meeting with Putin.