Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, with 'Today' show co-anchor Matt Lauer, left, speaks at the NBC Commander-In-Chief Forum held at the Intrepid Sea, Air and Space museum aboard the decommissioned aircraft carrier Intrepid, New York, Wednesday, Sept. 7, 2016. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)
Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, with 'Today' show co-anchor Matt Lauer, left, speaks at the NBC Commander-In-Chief Forum held at the Intrepid Sea, Air and Space museum aboard the decommissioned aircraft carrier Intrepid, New York, Wednesday, Sept. 7, 2016. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik) Credit: Andrew Harnik

New York — Facing criticism for his performance moderating live interviews with Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump, Matt Lauer made a knowing reference in an interview with comic Dana Carvey on Thursday.

Carvey, on NBC’s Today show, was impersonating Russian leader Vladimir Putin and commending Lauer for his work on the previous evening’s national security forum. “You have a fan,” Carvey, as Putin, said.

“One,” replied Lauer, holding up his index finger.

Lauer received the most criticism for not challenging Trump on his claim that he opposed the war in Iraq before it happened, despite a 2002 interview where he said he supported it. Clinton, who was interviewed earlier, referred to that Trump’s 2002 interview.

“How can someone like (Lauer) not set the record straight on Trump’s bogus claim of being against the war in Iraq?” tweeted Glenn Kessler of The Washington Post.