Putin Takes a Page From the Trump Playbook - Arrives 45 Minutes Late for Helsinki Meeting

David Badash
and
The New Civil Rights Movement
July 16, 2018World

Russian President Vladimir Putin and U.S. President Donald Trump Monday morning are meeting at a highly controversial "summit" in Helsinki but Putin has already made clear he will mock Trump every chance he gets.

The two nuclear power presidents were scheduled to begin their meeting at 6:00 AM Eastern time, but President Putin, obviously highly aware of specific world criticism of President Trump, arrived 45 minutes late.

Looks like Putin will keep Trump waiting. He’s landing about 45 minutes late at 5:47 EST, just about the time he was supposed to be arriving at the Presidential Palace. #HelsinkiSummit

— Norah O'Donnell (@NorahODonnell) July 16, 2018

Running late, Pres Putin steps off his aircraft on arrival in Finland for summit with Pres Trump. pic.twitter.com/i0o0Snwil3

— Mark Knoller (@markknoller) July 16, 2018

Not only is that an embarrassing disregard for President Trump, but it echoes world outrage last week, when Trump was late for his meeting with the UK's Queen Elizabeth.

Oh dear, she just looked at her watch. The Queen does NOT like tardiness. pic.twitter.com/b0GXBV9oWt

— Patricia Treble (@PatriciaTreble) July 13, 2018

Many in America are outraged that Trump will be meeting with Putin, and especially because no other American will be present in the room. The media also focused on the fact that there will be no notes taken by the Americans, so there will be no record to refer back to.

Trump showed up to his meeting with Putin empty handed. Putin, in an unusual move, showed up with pad and pen.

And then there was this. Just hours before he was supposed to begin his meeting with Vladimir Putin, Trump foolishly posted this tweet:

The Russian Foreign Ministry outright mocked America in response:

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