This is a first.
Tucker Carlson is the first foreign journalist to interview Vladimir Putin since the start of the war in Ukraine in February 2022. The interview will be broadcast this Thursday at midnight French time (6 p.m. in Washington) on the presenter's platform.
The former star of the conservative Fox News channel, aged 54, achieved a media coup in the middle of negotiations on American aid granted to Ukraine.
“We are not here because we love Vladimir Putin.
We are here because we love the United States,” he chants, in a video promoting the interview broadcast Tuesday on his X account (formerly Twitter), in front of a view overlooking Moscow.
Why I'm interviewing Vladimir Putin.
pic.twitter.com/hqvXUZqvHX
— Tucker Carlson (@TuckerCarlson) February 6, 2024
Tucker Carlson boasted of being the only one to give the Russian president the floor, which several Anglo-Saxon journalists described as “absurd”.
The Kremlin also denied this, saying it received interview requests from Western media.
But Tucker Carlson has a “position which contrasts with that of the traditional Anglo-Saxon media”, estimated the spokesperson for the Russian presidency, Dmitri Peskov.
Former Fox News star
The journalist became one of the conservative faces thanks to “Tucker Carlson Tonight”, a popular show broadcast on Fox News from 2016 to 2023. Anti-abortion, defender of the right to bear arms… Tucker Carlson speaks to part of the Pro-Trump America.
In August 2023, when the former president was indicted, he denounced “a political purge”.
Tucker Carlson says Trump's indictment represents a "political purge" against Republicans.
Claims the rule of law has been suspended for everyone who would consider voting for him.
pic.twitter.com/lIQRiBWm7R
— nikki mccann ramírez (@NikkiMcR) March 31, 2023
His detractors accused him of playing into racist theories by openly sharing his positions against immigration, the racial question and the rights of LGBT people.
He is accused of advocating racial supremacy.
The New York Times revealed a text exchange between Carlson and a producer dating from January 6, 2021, in the midst of the invasion of the Capitol by pro-Trump demonstrators.
In response to the images of the assault, Carlson reportedly wrote: “A white man doesn't fight like that.
»
Also read: American presidential election: Trump unbeatable?
Lessons from his victory in the Republican primary in Iowa
His departure in April 2023 caused a media earthquake across the Atlantic.
Although no official reason had been given, Fox News had at the same time signed a $787.5 million agreement with electronic voting machine company Dominion to avoid a defamation lawsuit.
The journalist had been suspected, with Fox News, of having accused without proof of rigging in the 2020 presidential election, which saw the victory of Joe Biden.
Shortly after, Donald Trump said he was “shocked” and “surprised” by this departure.
“He is a very good person, very talented and as you know, he is widely listened to (
on television
),” he reacted on another conservative channel NewsMax.
“I think Tucker is great, he was especially last year, great with me,” he added.
“The media is corrupt”
For Tucker Carlson, questioning Putin should help Americans form their “own opinion” on the conflict, as “citizen(
s
) and not as slave(
s
)”.
Relaying conspiracy theories, the American places himself above the traditional media, “corrupt” in his eyes.
“No one tells the truth,” he asserts.
The press interviews given to Volodymyr Zelensky?
“Government propaganda (
which
) kills people,” he says.
“Western governments will probably censor parts of the interview because they are afraid of information they cannot control,” he denounces.
In his self-promotion video, the fan of “story telling” believes that “most Americans are misinformed” about the war in Ukraine: “They should know why they are paying so much money to an extent that they do not probably not fully perceive.
»
Also read: “The war damaged, hardened and aged him”: in the privacy of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky
The timing of this interview is opportune as the US Congress has postponed a vote on aid to Ukraine until this Thursday.
The United States, the main military supporter of Ukraine with more than 110 billion already released by Congress, has been struggling for months to send new funds to kyiv.
This Thursday, NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg deemed it “essential” that Congress continues to support Ukraine, saying that “a Russian victory would weaken us and embolden not only Moscow, but also China, the Iran and North Korea.
He accuses the White House of “espionage”
Finally, Carlson also intends to deal a blow to Joe Biden, candidate for re-election, and more broadly to the Democratic camp.
He accuses the White House of having “spied” on his team’s phones in order to prevent a previous interview with the Russian president.
Comments described as “ridiculous” by White House spokesperson Karine Jean-Pierre.
Hillary Clinton, former Democratic presidential candidate and Barack Obama's secretary of state, called Carlson Putin's "useful idiot" on MSNBC.
VIDEO.
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The interview will also be closely scrutinized in Europe, a week after the EU released 50 billion euros to Ukraine.
Voices are already being raised, including that of MEP Guy Verhofstadt (Renew).
He accuses Carlson of “playing into Putin’s disinformation” and calls for him to be banned from traveling to the European Union.