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

(Image credit: ADEM ALTAN/Getty Images)

published 2 October 2019

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.

While this was supposed to play like a joke, it's not in the slightest. Pretty much every U.S. intelligence official out there has indicated they agree with the warning Mueller gave during his July congressional testimony: That Russians didn't execute just one attempt to interfere with the U.S. elections, that they'll do it again in 2020, and that perhaps "they're doing it as we sit here."

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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.