CNN’s Jim Sciutto, reporter *and* body language expert. Or something:
Biden looked Putin in the eyes, Putin immediately looked away. https://t.co/YCJJtB7PYq
— Jim Sciutto (@jimsciutto) June 16, 2021
Note that Sciutto’s analysis relies on *his* interpretation of the video. Here’s a different photo of that same handshake:
#UPDATE US President Joe Biden and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin sounded upbeat Wednesday as they sat down for talks at a plush villa in Geneva for their first summit pic.twitter.com/3AOIKeItPx
— AFP News Agency (@AFP) June 16, 2021
He added that there were “no smiles from Biden or Putin” in a still image from the video of their pre-summit meeting:
Notably, no smiles from Biden or Putin. pic.twitter.com/ROOBJMpsUF
— Jim Sciutto (@jimsciutto) June 16, 2021
Or maybe it was all smiles at the meeting? Sciutto seems to have missed this moment FROM THE SAME CLIP:
President Joe Biden and Russia's Vladimir Putin plunged into hours of face-to-face talks Wednesday at a lush lakeside Swiss mansion. https://t.co/dQ7FMeEk3s
— WEAR ABC 3 (@weartv) June 16, 2021
Not to be outdone, CNN’s John Berman commented on Putin’s “manspread”:
The Putin manspread is something to behold https://t.co/F2OX6pnXQs
— John Berman (@JohnBerman) June 16, 2021
Sciutto later went on air and gushed over the handshake and how Biden looked Putin in the eye while Putin looked away, which as you can see from the video is not such a big deal at all.
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CNN’s @jimsciutto gushes over Biden shaking hands w/ Putin: "The handshake, Biden looked in the eye of Putin with a smile and Putin looked away … These [moments] are about public posturing and about how you project strength." pic.twitter.com/hzBrLEuF0Y
— Tom Elliott (@tomselliott) June 16, 2021
Putin even waved goodbye to them! From the AP:
Russian President Vladimir Putin, left, and U.S President Joe Biden enter the ‘Villa la Grange’ in Geneva, Switzerland in Geneva, Switzerland, Wednesday, June 16, 2021. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko, Pool)
Dmitry Polyansky, First Deputy Permanent Representative of Russia to the UN, called out Sciutto for his fake news, telling him to watch the whole video:
Fakenewsers on alert and starting to produce #fakenews right away. The video attached by @27khv proves this #BidenPutinSummit #GenevaSummit2021 https://t.co/dLEKQsdQh5
— Dmitry Polyanskiy (@Dpol_un) June 16, 2021
The summit is only a few hours old and the U.S. coverage of it is already a clown show.
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