Drudge Report: ‘Putin dominates’ Trump in Helsinki

Conservative website Drudge Report on Monday declared that Russian President Vladimir Putin emerged from his meeting with President Trump with the upper-hand.

The website blared a headline of “Putin Dominates in Hel” across its homepage, a reference to the leaders’ meeting in Helsinki.

The accompanying photo depicted the two men walking toward their podiums for the press conference, with Putin grinning and Trump walking a step behind.

{mosads}The main Drudge Report story linked to a Daily Mail post headlined “Trump and Putin’s love-in,” which recounted Trump’s refusal to blame Putin for interfering in the 2016 election, and Putin’s acknowledgement that he wanted Trump to defeat Hillary Clinton.

Trump has previously heaped praise on Drudge Report and its founder, Matt Drudge. The president singled out the website last month during an interview with “Fox & Friends.”

“Matt Drudge is a great gentleman,” Trump said. “He really has the ability to capture stories that people want to see.”

During the press conference in Finland on Monday, Trump did not press or condemn Putin for Russia’s interference in the 2016 presidential election, just days after indictments were delivered against 12 Russian nationals for their alleged role in the hacking of the Democratic National Committee.

Instead, Trump asserted that he did not collude with Russia in the election, recounted his victory over Democratic nominee Clinton and called the special counsel investigation “ridiculous” and a source of tension between the two countries.

Trump’s performance at the press conference with Putin remarks were widely criticized by media personalities on Fox News, CNN and NBC, as well as lawmakers on both sides of the aisle. They overwhelmingly criticized the president for failing to hold Putin accountable.