American correspondent Tucker Carlson revealed that he will “soon” conduct an interview with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow. If true, this would be Putin's first one-on-one interview with a Western journalist since he began his invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
According to NBC, the 54-year-old posted a video on X, formerly Twitter, and his Instagram account on Tuesday, February 6, 2024, breaking the news of the alleged interview. He said:
“Most Americans have no idea why Putin invaded Ukraine or what his goals are now… Americans have a right to know everything they can about the war they are involved in, and we have a right to tell them about it.”
Netizens expressed their opinions about the upcoming interaction. Some praised the news anchor for doing his job as an unbiased journalist, while some thought the interview might not happen and criticized Carlson for siding with Putin.
Tucker Carlson says he will interview Russian President Vladimir Putin
Tucker Carlson is the host of his eponymous show on Fox News. He has hosted prime-time programs on numerous media outlets, including CNN, PBS, and MSNBC. The conservative political commentator also co-founded The Daily Caller.
Rumors emerged last week of pro-Kremlin media trying to track Tucker Carlson's movements around the Russian capital, Moscow. They stated that a car that was allegedly used by the former MSNBC host was seen leaving the president's office, according to the BBC.
On Tuesday, Carlson made an announcement confirming rumors that he was set to interview Russian President Vladimir Putin. He said in a video clip he posted on his X account:
“There are obviously risks to doing an interview like this, so we thought about it over several months.”
The news anchor has criticized US support for the war in Ukraine and has previously praised Putin. Tucker Carlson noted that since the start of the war in Ukraine, Western journalists have held meetings with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky several times, but not Putin, according to The Guardian. He said:
“We ourselves have submitted a request for an interview with Zelensky. We hope he will accept, but the interviews he has already given in the United States are not traditional interviews, they are pep sessions. This is not journalism, this is government propaganda.” “
The interview will be on his website TuckerCarlson.com. It was posted “uncensored” by X’s owner, Elon Musk, at an unspecified time.
Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, 2022, in an escalation of the Russia-Ukraine war that began in 2014. Vladimir Putin has not yet confirmed whether there will be an interview with Carlson, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Internet users gave mixed opinions about the news of the alleged upcoming interaction between Putin and Carlson:
However, some social media users believe the interview is doing more harm than good.
After Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Tucker Carlson questioned American aid to the war effort. He also claimed that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky was a dictator. According to NBC, in 2022, the journalist said,
“Zelensky does not care about freedom and democracy. In fact, Zelensky is much closer to Lenin than he is to George Washington. He is a dictator. He is a dangerous authoritarian who used a hundred billion dollars of American tax money to set up one party.” The police state in Ukraine.”
According to the BBC, the United Nations claimed that Russian forces were responsible for “large-scale” torture and killing in Ukraine. Russia also seized four other regions in Ukraine, after its illegal seizure of Crimea in 2014.
The International Criminal Court has since issued an arrest warrant for Vladimir Putin, accusing him of war crimes and illegal deportation of children from Ukraine to Russia.
