Man holding apparent protest sign removed from room right before Trump and Putin held joint press conference
- A man whom colleagues identified as a journalist with the US-based publication The Nation was forcibly removed from the room where President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin held a joint press conference on Monday.
- The man reportedly held a sign opposing nuclear weapons.
- Trump's press conference with Putin was the first between US and Russian presidents in nearly a decade.
A man whom colleagues identified as a journalist with the US-based publication The Nation was forcibly removed from the room where President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin held a joint press conference on Monday.
The man held a sign that reportedly said "Nuclear Weapons Ban Treaty."
He also reportedly handed out an opinion article titled "Common Ground: For Secure Elections and True National Security" to other reporters in the press area before the press conference began.
The man wrestled with security before being escorted out.
Trump's press conference with Putin was the first between US and Russian presidents in nearly a decade.
Trump said he discussed numerous subjects with the Russian leader in private earlier, including election interference, as he spoke of the importance of maintaining diplomatic relations with Russia.
The special counsel's team on Friday indicted 12 Russian intelligence officers on charges related to its investigation into Russian election interference. Speaking before Trump, Putin denied that Russia interfered in the 2016 US presidential election in any fashion and said the country had no plans to do so in future elections.
Trump described Monday's meeting as helping improve US-Russia relations dramatically.
"Our relationship has never been worse than it is now," Trump said. "However, that changed as of about four hours ago."
"This was a very constructive day," Trump said, adding, "I'm sure we'll be meeting again in the future."