NBC's Katy Tur doesn't remember Obama promising Putin

Posted: Feb 21, 2017

When a Republican congressman on MSNBC brought up a 2012 incident where President Barack Obama was caught on a hot mic promising to give Russia’s Vladimir Putin a little more “flexibility” after the election, NBC journalist and MSNBC host Katy Tur seemed not to recall the incident. Tur pressed Florida Representative Francis Rooney about the number of Donald Trump advisors with close tie to Russia. “I see a lot of folks within Donald Trump’s administration who have a friendlier view of Russia than maybe past administrations did,” she noted. “Well, I think it was Obama that leaned over to Putin and said, ‘I’ll have a little more flexibility to give you what you want after the re-election,’” Rooney responded. Tur paused for a moment. “I’m sorry, I don’t know what you’re referring to, Congressman,” she said. “Remember when he leaned over at a panel discussion or in a meeting, and he said, ‘I’ll have more flexibility after the election’?” Rooney asked. “No one pushed the president on what he meant by that, but I can only assume for a thug like Putin that it would embolden him,” which gave Tur pause, again. In Tur’s defense, Rooney is slightly off in his retelling: it was then-Russian President Dmitry Medvedev who Obama whispered to, who then promised to relay Obama’s message to Putin. But his recollection of the content of Obama’s message was accurate: “This is my last election. After my election I have more flexibility,” he told the Russians. Obama’s hot mic comments were major news at the time, receiving widespread coverage. Obama’s Republican opponent Mitt Romney seized upon the gaffe and worked it into his stump speeches, even bringing it up during one of the presidential debates. ;