Trump says G20 leaders are obsessed with the DNC hack

President Donald Trump tweeted early this morning from the G20 Summit in Hamburg, Germany, that “everyone here is talking about why John Podesta refused to give the DNC server to the FBI and the CIA. Disgraceful!”

Trump’s tweet is referring to the former chair of Hillary Clinton’s 2016 presidential campaign, John Podesta, who had his emails stolen back in October at the same time the US Intelligence Community announced that Russian agents hacked the DNC emails. At the time, the Clinton campaign said the Russians were also behind the Podesta email hack.

Podesta himself responded with a lengthy Twitter thread denouncing the president’s tweet and asserting that he did not work at the DNC.

Using an important summit of world leaders like the G20 as an excuse to pursue a partisan fight about domestic issues isn’t typically the norm. World leaders, from the US and elsewhere, usually confine their public statements to the international issues under discussion rather than jabbing at their political opponents back home.

So Trump’s tweets about Podesta were a stark contrast with other world leaders attending the summit:

Prime Minister of Canada Justin Trudeau discussed climate change with French President Emmanuel Macron.

Speaking of Macron, he met with Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto regarding migration and climate change.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi gave a speech addressing leaders of BRIC countries.

PM of Norway Erna Solberg steered the conversation on education.

The Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs account tweeted about its efforts to work with Libya on migration, claiming “a shared responsibility for a common goal.”

Australian PM Malcolm Turnbull talked economic policy and trade with Finance Minister Mathias Cormann.

UN Secretary General António Guterres called on leaders to address climate change and “violent extremism.”

He also met with women’s education advocate Malala Yousafzai.

And even First Lady Melania Trump stayed above the fray, offering her well wishes to those hurt in the Hamburg protests:

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