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full screen The American journalist Tucker Carlson will interview Vladimir Putin. Photo: Lynne Sladky / AP
The column kilometers of print and air time that the Russian media devote to Tucker Carlson’s visit to Moscow is the main proof of how important Vladimir Putin thinks the American TV personality’s visit is.
For the outside world, the visit is a warning about what the United States might look like after the presidential election in November.
A future where Donald Trump forms an alliance with Putin against Europe.
I remember Tucker Carlson from my school days in the US in the early 2000s. Then he was a right-wing voice on CNN, Later he made a name for himself as a presenter at the conservative TV channel Fox. Then as a devoted supporter of Donald Trump. He wholeheartedly supported Trump’s false claims that Biden won by cheating.
When it cost media mogul and Fox owner Rupert Murdoch billions in damages, the far-right TV personality got the kick. Now Tucker Carlson is doing his own show on X, formerly Twitter.
In recent days, he has been in Moscow to interview Vladimir Putin. Carlson justifies his interview by saying that the audience in the West has not been told the real reasons why Putin invaded Ukraine.
Carlson resents the fact that the Western media constantly allows Ukrainian President Zelensky to speak. A leader he called a dictator.
Thus, Tucker Carlson joins the crowd of far-right politicians and media figures who act as useful idiots for Putin. He follows in the footsteps of France’s Marine Le Pen, the Netherlands’ Geert Wilders, Hungary’s Viktor Orbán and a host of other right-wing nationalists who admire Putin as a strong leader. A hero and role model.
November 5 is the presidential election in the United States. As it stands now, Donald Trump may very well walk away with the victory. A Trump 2.0 will hunt down his enemies and, just like in his previous four years in the White House, rub shoulders with autocrats of all kinds.
Europe could end up in a situation where Trump, behind the backs of other NATO members, settles with Putin about a peace in Ukraine that is guaranteed to take Russia’s interests into account more than Ukraine’s.
Can Europe continue to support Ukraine if the US sides with Russia?
It feels strange to even ask that question. But Tucker Carlson’s visit to Moscow is an unpleasant reminder that it may well become a reality. Even now, Republicans in Congress are blocking more aid to Ukraine.
The TV personality is not just an opinion-driven journalist. He is also seen by some as a possible heir to Trump. A future Republican presidential candidate.
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full screen Several high-profile American journalists have tried to interview Putin, but all have been turned down. The far-right Tucker Carlson is the first to interview Putin since Russia invaded Ukraine. Photo: Alexander Zemlianichenko / AP
There is, of course, nothing wrong with interviewing Vladimir Putin. But Carlson’s conversation with the Russian president is unlikely to be a critical bullet point interview.
It is no coincidence that Carlson will be the first Western journalist to interview Putin after his invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022.
Carlson tries to make it look like he is the only Western journalist who even considered interviewing Putin.
Which is an absurd lie that has already been exposed by a number of internationally renowned foreign correspondents.
CNN’s Christine Amanpour and the BBC’s Moscow correspondent Steve Rosenberg have both repeatedly requested to interview the Russian president but have always been denied. They are not alone. All have been refused.
Carlson, who, like Trump, has repeatedly spoken warmly of Putin, is the only one who has received a yes.
Putin does not want any critical questions. He only allows himself to be interviewed by subservient and useful idiots like Carlson.
Russian media are said to have been filled with articles and features about Tucker Carlson’s visit in recent days. Pictures on the front pages when he visits various famous places in Moscow. According to the BBC, Russian media are following every move Tucker Carlson makes.
Since all Russian media are now state-controlled, it is clear that the Kremlin wants this attention for the visit.
A newspaper headline from a Moscow newspaper quoted by the BBC is “Carlson lives in the US but he tells the truth”.
For Putin, it is important to try to show that Russia is not at all as isolated as the West claims. What better proof, then, than a visit by a well-known American journalist.
Russian media have already extensively quoted Carlson, especially regarding his stance on the war in Ukraine.
Like Trump, Carlson is highly critical of US support for Ukraine, which he believes only prolongs the war and costs the American taxpayer a lot of money.
Donald Trump claims in the ongoing presidential election campaign that the war would never have broken out if he had been president. He also claims that he can end the conflict within 24 hours.
The only chance of luck with that is to offer Russia parts of Ukraine’s territory.
Neither Carlson nor Trump sees a dissolution of the liberal and rules-based world order as a threat. Rather, like Putin, they want to replace it with the right of the strong.
The major countries that the USA and Russia will decide. Smaller countries should shut up and get in line.
It is not a fun future Europe faces if Trump wins in November.
