Carlson sparked speculation that he would give such an interview when he was spotted at Moscow’s Bolshoi Theater a few days ago.
The Kremlin has not yet granted Karlsson an interview, but spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Monday: “Many foreign journalists come to Russia every day, and many continue to work in Russia, and we welcome this. ” he said.
Karlsson has frequently dismissed criticism of President Putin over the years. Two years ago, Russia massed troops on Ukraine’s border in what would soon turn into a bloody invasion, but he dismissed the conflict as just a “border dispute.”
In the video, shot from a Moscow rooftop, Carlson said he weighed the pros and cons of interviewing Putin for several months, but ultimately decided it was worth doing. “Our duty is to inform people,” he said, adding, “Most Americans have no idea why President Putin invaded Ukraine and what his goals are now. That’s wrong. Americans have a right to know everything they can about the wars they’re involved in, and we have a right to tell them about it because we’re Americans too. there is.”
Carlson pointed to the high death toll and called the war a “man-made disaster.”
He criticized the U.S. media’s dialogue with Ukrainians and interviews with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, calling it “propaganda” and “president Zelenskiy’s message that the U.S. would intervene more deeply in the war in Eastern Europe.” “A special pep talk session designed to amplify the demands of the people.” ”
He also scolded Western journalists for not interviewing Putin, an idea rejected by veteran CNN journalist Christian Amanpour in his post about X as “ridiculous.”
“We will continue to seek interviews, as we have done in recent years,” Amanpour said. I have written.
Until he was ousted from prime-time Fox News in April, Carlson regularly used his show to refute criticism of President Vladimir Putin. Days before the Russian invasion, Carlson made a bizarre political rhetorical argument to suggest that Americans had no reason to hate the Russian president. “Has Putin ever called me a racist? Has he threatened to fire me because I don’t agree with his views? Did he fabricate a global pandemic that destroyed my business and kept me indoors for two years? …These are obvious questions, and the answers to them are all no. Carlson said in March 2022 that Putin’s invasion of Ukraine was “effectively encouraged by the Biden administration.”
In November 2019, Carlson said he supported Russia in a possible war with Ukraine. He also once called Zelenskiy a “Ukrainian pimp.” As The Washington Post reported last spring, Fox News founder Rupert Murdoch’s rhetoric displeased Zelensky’s popular employees.
But Carlson said in a video Tuesday that he had requested a meeting with Zelenskiy.
This type of commentary has made Karlsson a star in the Russian media, and his programs are often praised by government broadcasters. Last year, the state-run Russian 24 network ran a teaser featuring Carlson’s online showHowever, he denied any involvement in this effort.
Russia has 23 journalists in prison, including Wall Street Journal correspondent Evan Gershkovitch, who has been detained since March, according to the European Federation of Journalists. Many Russian journalists have also been forced into exile, fearing for their safety.
Carlson said his company paid for his trip to Moscow, but that he did not receive any money from outside parties or governments.
In addition to streaming videos on X, Carlson is offering exclusive access to some video content on the website for $9 per month. However, he suggested that Putin’s interview would be published in X for free.
One perk for subscribers is the weekly “Ask Tucker” series where subscribers can ask him questions. In the latest video in the series, posted three days before the video from Moscow, he addressed questions about male pattern baldness.