US conservative political commentator Tucker Carlson speaks at the Turning Point Action USA conference in West Palm Beach, Florida, on July 15, 2023.
Giorgio Viera | AFP | Getty Images
Former Fox News host Tucker Carlson said he will interview Russian President Vladimir Putin, becoming the first member of the Western media to interview the Russian leader since the country’s invasion of Ukraine almost two years ago.
“Most Americans have no idea why Putin invaded Ukraine or what his goals are now. … Americans have a right to know all they can about a war they’re implicated in and we have the right to tell them about it,” Carlson said in a Tuesday video posted on social media site X from Moscow.
Carlson, who departed Fox News in 2023 after the network’s record $787 million settlement with Dominion Voting Systems, has criticized U.S. support for the war in Ukraine and has previously propped up Putin.
“Why is Vladimir Putin such a bad guy? He’s not Saddam Hussein, he’s not Adolf Hitler, he’s not a danger to the United States,” Carlson said in 2017.
Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Tucker questioned American aid for the war effort. He also falsely claimed that President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of Ukraine is an authoritarian leader.
“Zelenskyy has no interest in freedom and democracy. In fact, Zelenskyy is far closer to Lenin than to George Washington. He is a dictator. He is a dangerous authoritarian who has used a hundred billion in U.S. tax dollars to erect a one-party police state in Ukraine,” Carlson said in 2022.
The far-right commentator’s interview with Putin will be released on X and the media startup TuckerCarlson.com.
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