The Putin-Biden has only just started and we have our first clarification from the White House

Greg P. | 8:50 AM on June 16, 2021

President Joe Biden was asked at the beginning of today’s summit if he trusts Vladimir Putin and he reportedly “nodded affirmatively”:

Reporter to President Biden: Do you trust Putin? Do you trust each other?

President Biden looked directly at the reporter and nodded affirmatively.

— Yamiche Alcindor (@Yamiche) June 16, 2021

That version of events is even in the print pool report of what went down:

Hmmm.

Print pool: "Inside, a pooler shouted Mr. President, do you trust Putin? Biden nodded yes up and down. Another pooler asked Putin if he feared Navalny and what he would do if Ukraine joined NATO. He looked up and did not respond."

— Kathryn Watson (@kathrynw5) June 16, 2021

Biden looked the journo right in the eye, even:

Pool reporter shouted to @POTUS and Putin if they can trust each other, and then followed with "Mr. President do you trust him?" Biden looked me in the eye and nodded affirmatively. #summit

— Stephanie Gallman (@sgallman) June 16, 2021

But White House communications director Kate Bedingfield is pushing back on those reports, saying Biden “was very clearly not responding to any one question, but nodding in acknowledgment to the press generally”:

It was a chaotic scrum with reporters shouting over each other. @POTUS was very clearly not responding to any one question, but nodding in acknowledgment to the press generally. He said just two days ago in his presser: “verify, then trust.” https://t.co/5C9gP4XTtO

— Kate Bedingfield (@WHCommsDir) June 16, 2021