Topline
Former Fox News host Tucker Carlson confirmed Tuesday he plans to interview Russian President Vladimir Putin in what will be the first conversation between Putin and western media since Russia invaded Ukraine nearly two years ago, following mounting speculation online and controversy over Carlson’s often-harsh criticism of Ukraine.
Former Fox News host Tucker Carlson confirmed he will interview Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Key Facts
Carlson released a video on the social media platform X saying he’s talking to Putin because “it’s our job” and “we’re in journalism.”
The former Fox News host, who was ousted from the right-wing network last year, admitted there are “risks” to interviewing Putin, saying his team has considered interviewing him for months.
Carlson argued “most Americans are not informed” on the war in Ukraine and “have no real idea what’s happening in this region,” adding Americans are “paying for much of it in ways they might not fully yet perceive,” alluding to U.S. military aid to Ukraine, which Carlson has criticized.
Carlson also argued the war “has utterly reshaped the global military and trade alliances,” including through multiple rounds of western sanctions on Russia, which he argued “have upended the world economy.”
In his video, Carlson added that billionaire X owner Elon Musk—who has come under fire for his no-holds-barred approach to free speech and content moderation on the social media platform—has “promised not to suppress or block” the interview once it’s posted, though Carlson did not say when the video will be posted.
Key Background
Carlson has made Russia’s war in Ukraine a major talking point on both his Fox News show and his rebranded show on X, repeatedly criticizing U.S. military aid to Ukraine. Carlson has also harshly attacked Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, whom he called “sweaty and rat-like,” and insinuated the U.S. government was responsible for the explosion of the Nord Stream pipeline last year, disrupting the flow of Russian natural gas to Europe. In 2019, Carlson said he was “rooting for Russia” in its conflict in Ukraine, though he later clarified he had been joking. In recent days, Carlson’s trip to Moscow has caused a frenzy among Russian TV outlets, with Carlson receiving near-continuous coverage on state-run media, multiple outlets reported.
Crucial Quote
Carlson said in his video that U.S. outlets have conducted “scores of interviews with Ukrainian President [Volodymyr] Zelensky,” which he called “fawning pep sessions, specifically designed to amplify Zelensky’s demand that the U.S. enter more deeply into the war in Eastern Europe and pay for it.” Carlson bashed those interviews as “government propaganda” that is “of the ugliest kind—the kind that kills people.”
Tangent
Carlson also claimed “not a single western journalist has bothered to interview” Putin, calling it “wrong” that Americans have “no idea why Putin invaded Ukraine or what his goals are now.” While Carlson would be the first western journalist to interview Putin since February 2022, he is not the first to seek an interview. Christiane Amanpour, CNN’s chief international anchor, blasted Carlson in a post on X, saying: “Does Tucker really think we journalists haven’t been trying to interview President Putin every day since his full scale invasion?” Since the start of that invasion, two western journalists have also been detained in Russia, including Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, who was arrested on espionage allegations last month, as well as Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty editor Alsu Kurmasheva, who was arrested in October for allegedly failing to register as a foreign agent.
Further Reading
Tucker Carlson In Moscow: Here’s Why Possible Putin Interview Is So Controversial (Forbes)
