American news anchor Tucker Carlson is set to publish his long-awaited interview with President Vladimir Putin on Thursday, but the White House has expressed concerns about giving the Russian president a platform.
Carlson, a former Fox News host known for his conservative topics, said the interview will be broadcast on his website and social media platform X on his show “Tucker on X” at 11pm GMT. said.
Here’s what you need to know about the interview and the controversy surrounding it.
What do we know about Karlsson and Putin’s interview?
Karlsson confirmed on Tuesday that he was in the Russian capital Moscow to meet with President Vladimir Putin. “We’re in Moscow tonight. We’re here to interview Russian President Vladimir Putin,” Carlson said in a video posted to X on Tuesday that appeared to be shot from a tower in Moscow. Told.
The host, who has criticized U.S. media coverage of the Ukraine-Russia war, said his aim was to counter what he described as a pro-Ukrainian “baby pep rally” by Western media coverage of the war.
The interview will be available on Carlson’s website and will be shared “uncensored” on X. This will be Putin’s first formal interview with a Western journalist since the invasion of Ukraine began nearly two years ago.
According to TASS, Karlsson spent several days in Moscow. The host also reportedly said he had “requested an interview” with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy.
The interview comes as Democrats plan to launch a new attempt to restore U.S. military funding to Ukraine on Thursday after a first vote on a multibillion-dollar aid package failed over Republican opposition. It was conducted.
The last time President Putin was formally interviewed by U.S. media was in October 2021.
Why is Mr. Carlson interviewing Mr. Putin?
Carlson said the purpose of the interview was to help Americans understand Russia’s view of the war.
“Two years into a war that is reshaping the entire world, most Americans are in the dark. They have no idea what’s going on in this region,” Carlson said. said in a four-minute video.
“But they should know that they are paying a large part of it in ways that they are not yet fully aware of,” he added.
“Most Americans have no idea why President Putin invaded Ukraine or what his goals are now,” he said. “We’re not here because we love Vladimir Putin… We’re not recommending that you agree with anything Putin says in this interview, but we encourage you to watch it. You can. You should know as much as possible.”
He claimed the Biden administration blocked him from interviewing Putin when he was with Fox News, an accusation that a White House spokesperson on Tuesday called “ridiculous.”
Why I Interview President Vladimir Putin. pic.twitter.com/hqvXUZqvHX
— Tucker Carlson (@TuckerCarlson) February 6, 2024
Russian officials said Putin agreed to the interview because Karlsson expressed a view that differed from the “one-sided” coverage of the Ukraine conflict by other media outlets.
“When it comes to Western countries, large network media, television channels, [and] “Big newspapers can never boast of even trying to at least appear impartial in their reporting,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said at a press conference on Wednesday.
“These are all exceptionally one-sided media outlets. Of course, we have no intention of communicating with them, and they are of little value and unlikely to be of any use.”
Asked why Carlson obtained the interview, Peskov said the American journalist’s approach was “in no way pro-Russian, not pro-Ukrainian, but pro-American.”
What is the controversy surrounding the interview?
Carlson’s interview sparked a wave of criticism. The White House said Wednesday that President Putin should not be given uncritical excuses to justify the war in Ukraine.
“I don’t think we need another interview to understand President Putin’s atrocities,” said National Security Council spokesman John Kirby.
Mr. Carlson also claimed that he was the only member of the Western media willing to interview Mr. Putin.
“Does Tucker really think that we journalists haven’t tried to interview President Putin every day since he invaded Ukraine in earnest?” CNN host Christiane Amanpour Mr, Said “That’s ridiculous. We will continue to seek interviews, as we have for years.”
Critical voices also noted that Putin continues to target Russian and foreign journalists. According to the Moscow Times, at least 1,000 independent Russian journalists have fled the country by February 2023 as Russia tightens restrictions on “independent wartime reporting.”
“Unbelievable! I’m like the hundreds of Russian journalists who had to go into exile to continue reporting on the Kremlin’s war against Ukraine,” Russian journalist Evgenia Arbats told X. Told.
can’t believe it! I am like the hundreds of Russian journalists forced into exile to continue reporting on the Kremlin’s war against Ukraine. The alternative was to go to prison. And now this his SoB is teaching us all about good journalism while filming from his $1000 Ritz suite in Moscow https://t.co/9R3lqy5O6v
— Albats (@albats) February 6, 2024
Carlson’s interview also provoked sharp political reactions. Guy Verhofstad, a former Belgian prime minister and current member of the European Parliament, called for the European Union to consider imposing a “travel ban” on Karlsson.
Former Illinois Republican Rep. Adam Kinzinger called Carlson a “traitor” for conducting the interview.
The interview comes as two American reporters, Evan Gershkovitch of the Wall Street Journal and Ars Kurmasheva of Radio Free Liberty, are currently facing charges by Russia that are widely seen as politically motivated. It was carried out while in prison.
And what about freedom of speech?
Carlson defended the interview. “Free speech is our birthright,” Carlson said in the video. He added, “We were born with the right to say what we believe, and that right will never be taken away, no matter who is in the White House.”
His supporters defended him, saying the interview was an example of free speech.
Far-right Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene said America is characterized by a free press.
“We have freedom of the press in this country, [sic] “People like Tucker Carlson are the people we rely on to tell the truth,” he wrote to X.
X owner Musk asked the public to “listen” to President Putin’s remarks.
Journalist Glenn Greenwald spoke out against the chorus of criticism, saying interviews with opponents have long been a part of journalism. He pointed out that CNN interviewed al-Qaeda founder Osama bin Laden in 1997 and then-Iraqi President Saddam Hussein in 1991.