Controversial Interview: Tucker Carlson’s Conversation with Vladimir Putin Sparks Outrage
In a recent interview that aired on Thursday night, Tucker Carlson sat down with Russian President Vladimir Putin for a two-hour-long conversation. The announcement of this interview sparked outrage, as many feared it would be pure Kremlin propaganda. Carlson, known for his admiration of Putin and controversial statements about Ukraine, was expected to be complicit and incapable of challenging the Russian leader.
The interview exceeded these expectations, leaving viewers disturbed by the perniciousness of Putin’s falsehoods and Carlson’s complicity. At a time when many in Congress are considering cutting off aid to Ukraine’s military, the impact of this interview cannot be underestimated.
The interview began with Putin delivering a half-hour-long monologue about Russian history. While he droned on about Yaroslav the Wise and the baptism of Rus, many viewers likely tuned out. However, the underlying message was clear – according to Putin, Ukraine never existed as a separate nation or ethnicity until the Soviet Socialist Republic of Ukraine was created in 1919. He dismissed Ukrainian independence as an absurdity and gesture of ingratitude.
This claim was quickly debunked by analysts and historians who have studied the history of Russia and Ukraine. However, Carlson, with his expression of a listless undergrad, failed to challenge any of Putin’s assertions.
The true depths of Putin’s mischief and Carlson’s collaboration became evident when the discussion turned to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. According to Putin, the war was brought on by the United States and Ukraine. He claimed that President George W. Bush’s openness to Ukraine’s NATO membership in 2008 and a CIA-engineered coup in Kyiv in 2014 were responsible for the conflict.
While there is some truth to these claims, they lack crucial context. The expansion of NATO had been encouraged by small Central and Eastern European countries that sought protection from Russia. Putin also failed to mention that the events of 2014 began when Ukraine’s president reneged on his pledge to seek affiliation with the European Union after being offered financial incentives by Putin. This sparked a mass rebellion and ultimately led to pro-EU leaders taking power.
Putin’s account conveniently ignores these facts, and Carlson failed to challenge him. Instead, Carlson repeated the false claim about British Prime Minister Boris Johnson encouraging Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to continue fighting. Carlson also failed to mention that Zelensky dropped his insistence on joining NATO two weeks into the war, undermining Putin’s claim that Western militarization was the cause of the invasion.
The interview took an even darker turn when Putin accused Zelensky and Ukraine of being Nazis. While there is some truth to Ukrainian nationalism, it is baseless to pin this label on Zelensky, who is Jewish and has relatives killed in the Holocaust. Putin also claimed that Zelensky banned peace talks with Russia, conveniently ignoring that the ban was specifically on talks with Putin due to a lack of trust.
Throughout the interview, Carlson failed to challenge Putin on his repression of journalists, human rights abuses, and cyber-operations against the West. He asked nothing about Russia’s cooperation with North Korea and Iran or Putin’s territorial ambitions.
In the end, this interview was a disturbing display of Putin’s propaganda and Carlson’s complicity. Putin knew that Carlson would not challenge him, which is why he agreed to the interview. Many viewers, unaware or uninterested in the complexities of Russia-Ukraine relations, may have been swayed by Putin’s arguments. The impact of this interview cannot be underestimated, especially as Congress considers aid to Ukraine’s military.
Although Carlson did briefly mention Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, who has been falsely imprisoned in Russia for espionage charges, he did not press Putin on the issue. Putin continued to insist that Gershkovich was working for U.S. special services, and Carlson said nothing.
Overall, this interview was worse than anyone could have dreaded. It highlighted the dangerous alliance between Putin and Carlson, leaving viewers disturbed and outraged. As the debate over aid to Ukraine continues, it is crucial to recognize the perniciousness of Putin’s falsehoods and the willingness of individuals like Carlson to amplify them.
