Chris Wallace cuts to Tucker Carlson about President Vladimir Putin’s interview, saying his former Fox colleague is worse than a “useful idiot.”
The 76-year-old veteran journalist called Mr. Karlsson an “eager puppy” during a two-hour interview with the Russian president in Moscow this week.
There has been no love lost between Wallace and Carlson in recent years, with Tucker calling his former colleague a “mean little man” in the past.
“Tucker Carlson showed up in Moscow to interview President Vladimir Putin,” Wallace said on CNN’s “The Chris Wallace Show.” It was nothing more than an interview.
Veteran journalist Chris Wallace, 76, called Carlson an “enthusiastic puppy” during a two-hour interview with the Russian president in Moscow this week.
Mr. Tucker traveled to Russia to interview President Putin, and the two-hour interview was broadcast on Thursday.
“President Putin wandered around for two hours and seven minutes while Mr. Tucker sat there like an eager puppy. Occasionally, but rarely, he was asked questions.
“But more important than what Tucker asked is what he didn’t ask. There’s no word on why Putin invaded a sovereign state. As for targeting civilians. There is nothing.
“Nothing about Russian war crimes.
“Reporters can ask Putin tough questions if he wants a real interview.”
This was clearly a reference to Wallace’s own 2018 interview with President Putin on Fox News. Mr. Wallace briefly showed a clip of that conversation before returning to his monologue.
In a 2018 interview, Mr. Wallace asked Mr. Putin: “Why do so many people who oppose Vladimir Putin end up dead or close to Putin?”
Mr. Wallace continued to address the audience: “During the Cold War, gullible Westerners who spread Soviet propaganda were dismissed as “useful idiots.” But it’s unfair to call Tucker a convenient idiot.
“No, he made the cynical decision to pursue his MAGA love affair with a dictator. What better way to make money than in Putin’s Kremlin?”
It was President Putin’s first interview with a member of the Western media since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine two years ago.
President Putin mocked former Fox News host Tucker Carlson’s failure to join the CIA after college in a controversial interview aired Thursday night.
White House national security press secretary John Kirby sought to minimize the impact of Carlson’s interview before its release. “Remember, you’re listening to Vladimir Putin. And you shouldn’t take what he says at face value.”
President Putin has significantly restricted his contact with international media since starting the Ukraine war in February 2022.
Russian authorities have cracked down on independent media, shutting down some Russian media outlets, blocking others, and ordering scores of foreign reporters to leave the country.
Two journalists working for U.S. news organizations, Mr. Gershković of the Wall Street Journal and Ars Kurmasheva of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, are in prison.
Asked by Karlsson if Russia would release Gershkovych, President Putin said the Russian side was open to dialogue, but reiterated that the reporter had been charged with espionage, a charge that Gershkovych denied. I’m denying it.
President Putin said of Gershkovych, “He was caught red-handed while secretly obtaining confidential information,” adding that he did not rule out the possibility that the journalist would return to Japan.
President Putin said, “There is no taboo in resolving this issue.” “We are ready to work it out, but there are certain conditions that are being discussed between the special services. We believe that an agreement can be reached.”
Meanwhile, President Putin mocked former Fox News host Tucker Carlson’s failure to join the CIA after college in a controversial interview aired Thursday night.
The issue arose after President Putin, without any rebuttal from Carlson, blamed the CIA for Ukraine’s 2014 Revolution of Dignity.
The movement began after the then-Russia-friendly government was peacefully overthrown by mass protests following the rejection of a cooperation agreement with the European Union.
When Karlsson asked who helped overthrow him, Putin replied: “Of course there was support from the CIA. As I understand it, that’s the organization you wanted to join at the time.” “Thank God they didn’t let you in. It’s a serious organization, but I understand.”
The Russian president then pointed to his background as an intelligence officer.