Former Fox News personality Tucker Carlson is in Moscow to interview Russian President Vladimir Putin, and on Tuesday he released a short video explaining why.
But if Carlson’s interview happens to have an impact, it won’t be because it reveals anything new. Putin’s views on almost every subject are already well known.
Why I wrote this
For Tucker Carlson and his Russian fans, his upcoming interview with Russian President Vladimir Putin is an exercise in journalistic equality. But both Karlsson and the Kremlin are pushing their agendas.
Nor is it because other Western news organizations have refused to talk to Mr. Putin since the Ukraine war began. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov acknowledged Wednesday that presidential staff regularly decline interview requests from Western journalists. Indeed, most Western media organizations find it difficult to continue operating in Moscow under wartime conditions.
But the Kremlin’s apparent affinity with Mr. Karlsson probably runs much deeper than mere opportunism. During the Cold War, American outsiders were treated as heroes in the Soviet Union, with authorities and many civilians viewing them as representing a different kind of America and as potential friends.
“Tucker is seen as a representative of millions of Americans who want improved relations with Russia,” said Sergei Markov, a former Kremlin adviser.
Tucker Carlson may be visiting Moscow for the first time, but he finds himself greeted as a minor celebrity.
The controversial former Fox News personality has been in Moscow for the past week to conduct an interview with President Vladimir Putin, and is as well known in Moscow as many Russian television personalities. Clips from his previous and current shows are frequently shown on Russian television, showing him angrily opposing official U.S. foreign policy, particularly regarding the Russia-Ukraine war.
In a series of on-the-street interviews conducted by news agency Sputnik, apparently average Russians were seen praising him. They see him as a truth-teller whose critical views have brought him into conflict with U.S. authorities, someone who honestly reports on Russia’s reality and wants to see Putin’s point of view firsthand. I commented. Russian media closely followed his movements around Moscow, including seeing the ballet “Spartacus” at the Bolshoi Theater and the vast new Russian Expo, which he is said to have enjoyed.
Why I wrote this
For Tucker Carlson and his Russian fans, his upcoming interview with Russian President Vladimir Putin is an exercise in journalistic equality. But both Karlsson and the Kremlin are pushing their agendas.
In a short video posted Tuesday, Carlson explained why he chose to meet with the Russian leader. But if Mr. Carlson’s interview with the Russian leader, which has reportedly been completed but has not yet been published, happens to have an impact, it will not be because it reveals anything new. .
Mr. Putin’s views on almost every topic are already well known, if only because of his frenetic public schedule, in which he almost always attends meetings, speaks, and answers questions. The Kremlin’s website provides details of more than a dozen such meetings since the new year.
Nor is it because other Western news organizations have refused to talk to Mr. Putin since the war began. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov acknowledged Wednesday that the president’s staff has received many interview requests from Western journalists. However, he said the Kremlin declined the interview because most Western news organizations have a “unilateral position.” Peskov said Carlson agreed to the interview because he takes a different approach than most traditional Western media and doesn’t take sides.
Indeed, most Western media organizations find it difficult to continue operating in Moscow under wartime conditions. Many resigned voluntarily, but some were formally ordered to do so. One American journalist, Evan Gershkovitch of the Wall Street Journal, has been in Moscow’s Lefortovo prison for almost a year, facing espionage charges that his family, employers and the U.S. government adamantly deny. is imprisoned in.
But the Kremlin’s apparent affinity with Mr. Karlsson probably runs much deeper than mere opportunism. During the Cold War, American outsiders like Angela Davis were treated as heroes in the Soviet Union, and the authorities (and many civilians) saw them as representing a different kind of America and a potential friend. It was assumed that there was no such thing. Today’s toying with Mr. Carlson in the Russian media appears to reflect a similar desire by many Russians to have him as a special envoy for the United States.
“Tucker is seen as a representative of millions of Americans who want improved relations with Russia,” said Sergei Markov, a former Kremlin adviser.
Most people have seen at least some of Karlsson’s views, which are frequently broadcast on Russian television. “Russians like it when he openly says that Ukraine is not a democracy, that Russia is not all bad and that it has legitimate interests. I like that he represents Christian values, and he seems like someone we could work with,” says Markoff.
Markov said a key issue in setting up the interview was the need to publish it in full and uncut, which meant Carlson had to publish it on his web page and on X (formerly known as Twitter). It was something he had promised to do.
“Other Western media outlets are not denied interviews with President Putin on any principle, but we know that they will manipulate the material and give excerpted quotes to make us look bad. “Just because,” Markov said. “I’m confident that CNN will be able to do the interview as long as they promise to broadcast everything without the games.”
Some Russian political experts have argued that the Kremlin granted Carlson the interview as an indirect way to boost Donald Trump, as the former Fox anchor is seen as a supporter of the former US president. ing.
But Alexei Mukhin, director of the Independent Political Information Center in Moscow, says that is unlikely to be the Kremlin’s intention.
“Perhaps the Kremlin wants Americans to take a fresh look at Putin and Russia, because it’s clear now that we’re not losing the sanctions or the war,” he says. “As for Mr. Trump, I think Mr. Putin does not want to help him. We already have experience with President Trump. It was not fun at all for us. Mr. Biden’s interview with Mr. Putin And if it makes people and their supporters uncomfortable, that’s good enough.”