Thread by @bansisharma

1. Trump Warns Putin
On the eve of Trump/Putin meeting on Monday, here's a news item we have not seen before, because it punctures the "Collusion!" narrative. It is about a conversation Trump had with Putin on March 20, 2018.

2. Background
Earlier this year in the thick of his election campaign, Vladimir Putin released a propaganda video promoting Russia's "invincible" new generation of nuclear weapons. The motion graphic in Putin's video appeared to show missiles raining down on Florida.

3. Trump stayed publicly silent. But privately, he raged. He told aides he understood this was Putin playing up to the crowds for his election but even so it was "over the line," said a source familiar with Trump's private comments.

4. Trump lashed out at Putin in a phone call, according to sources with direct knowledge. "A source with knowledge of the president's conversations with Putin told me this direct criticism from Trump was unprecedented in their recollection," reports Axios.

5. The call happened on Tuesday, March 20. You might remember this call; it was the one in which the Washington Post revealed that Trump had ignored his aides' advice printed on note cards — "DO NOT CONGRATULATE" — and went ahead and congratulated Putin on his election victory.

6/x. In the source's telling, Trump told Putin he thought it was "outrageous" that he'd put out the nuclear weapons video. Then Trump added: "I’ve already increased defense spending, modernized our nuclear weapons. We can do more, so if you want to do an arms race you’ll lose."

Here's the link to the Axios story.
axios.com/vladimir-putin…