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President Vladimir Putin commented on a wide range of topics, including Ukraine and international diplomacy, in a February 2024 interview with former Fox News host Tucker Carlson. However, social media users and websites are sharing fabricated quotes from the Russian president, President Joe Biden, and former President Barack Obama regarding U.S. border security.
A February 6, 2024 TikTok post reads, “We Russians find it ironically funny that Congress spends billions of dollars to protect foreign borders while ignoring our own. Quietly (sic) funny, but deadly,” the text said.
A purported response to a question about whether Putin is tracking events at the U.S. southern border also went viral on Instagram, garnering 25,000 likes. Kari Lake, a former Republican gubernatorial candidate in Arizona and now running for U.S. Senate, amplified this idea on X (formerly Twitter).
Other posts suggest that Biden is not in charge of the United States (“Joe Biden is just a facade for this power structure”) or that Obama is “still governing from afar” on the American island. are sharing content that claims to be quoting. Martha’s Vineyard, where Democrats have a home.
TikTok screenshot taken on February 9, 2024
Screenshot of an X post taken on February 9, 2024
A website claiming to be a recording of the “bombshell” interview, which took place three days before the real interview aired, quotes Putin as saying, “Joe Biden didn’t even realize what was going on. “He may not have understood the level of sanctions imposed.” Russia. “
but Carlson did nothing.Excerpts of the controversial interview were not released before its broadcast on February 8th. And the quote in the post is not included in the Kremlin’s official transcript of the translation of Putin’s remarks into English (archives can be found here).
Putin briefly mentioned Biden, saying: “I can’t remember when I talked to him.”
The Russian leader hinted that Migration issues At the U.S.-Mexico border, he suggested that Washington should take control of the situation rather than worry about Ukraine. However, he did not make the remarks quoted on social media.
“We have border problems, we have immigration problems, we have national debt problems – we have more than $33 trillion. If we have nothing else to do, why not fight in Ukraine?” Putin said. “Wouldn’t it be better to negotiate with Russia?”
The Ukraine war dominated the interview. Putin gave a lengthy explanation of Russia’s position, telling Carlson that Western countries should understand that it is “impossible” to defeat Russia.
Putin also said that “there is a possibility of reaching an agreement” regarding the imprisoned Wall Street Journal reporter. Evan Gershkovichwith unspecified concessions.