Putin jokes he's going to interfere in the 2020 election — but 'don't tell anybody'

Vladimir Putin.
(Image credit: ADEM ALTAN/Getty Images)

Russian President Vladimir Putin probably doesn't have a future in the standup scene.

During a Tuesday panel at the Russian Energy Week conference, Putin was asked to clarify whether former Special Counsel Robert Mueller was right in alleging Russia would "attempt to interfere" in the 2020 U.S. presidential election. "I'm going to tell you a secret," Putin said, leaning in to the microphone like he was whispering. "Yes, sure, we're going to do that. Don't tell anybody," he continued to an applauding crowd.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up
Explore More
Kathryn Krawczyk

Kathryn is a graduate of Syracuse University, with degrees in magazine journalism and information technology, along with hours to earn another degree after working at SU's independent paper The Daily Orange. She's currently recovering from a horse addiction while living in New York City, and likes to share her extremely dry sense of humor on Twitter.