Updated February 5, 2024, 12:34 PM ET
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Speculation intensified Monday morning that former Fox News host Tucker Carlson’s next sit-down interview on his prime-time show “X” would be with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Carlson poked fun at the controversial interview, even though he continues to raise eyebrows by expressing sympathy for Russia for almost two years. – War with Ukraine.
important facts
Rumors swirled on social media Monday morning. multiple video The video appears to show Karlsson leaving a hotel in Moscow and heading towards the Kremlin in a black SUV.
When asked by a Russian reporter for Russian state media Izvestia if he planned to interview President Putin, Karlsson reportedly replied, “We’ll see.” video The document, obtained by Financial Times reporter Max Seddon, said Mr Carlson said he wanted to visit Moscow because he had “read a lot” about it but had “never seen it”.
Carlson’s attorney, Arthur Schwartz, would not confirm to Forbes whether Carlson was scheduled to interview Putin, but Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the Kremlin had no plans to interview “foreigners.” “We should provide little information about journalists’ movements,” he said, without commenting on the possibility of an interview.according to financial times translation.
Carlson has repeatedly sympathized with Russia and questioned U.S. military aid to Ukraine, but he doubts the U.S. is to blame for the explosion in the Nord Stream pipeline, which supplies Russian natural gas to Europe. He even suggested that he was “supporting Russia” during the war. And before you say I’m kidding, the interview with the Russian president could be one of Carlson’s most controversial moves since relaunching his show on X (formerly Twitter).
Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovic was arrested in Russia last March on suspicion of espionage, and Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty editor Ars Kurmasheva was arrested in Russia on suspicion of inaction. The possibility of an interview arose at a time when Russia’s reputation as a hospitable place for Western journalists is in decline. Register as a foreign agent in October 2022 (The Post and Radio Free Europe have both condemned the detention, and neither journalist has been returned, but a Russian court ruled last week that Ms. Kurumasheva was detained. (extended).
The interview will also be President Putin’s first with a Western journalist since Russia began its invasion of Ukraine nearly two years ago, although Karlsson was previously interviewed by Swiss media Die Weltsche in September. This is not the first time he has given an interview to Putin, after he said he had tried it. One was before he was stopped by the US government.
tangent
Rumors about Carlson’s media appearances in Moscow are nothing new. In September, after an advertisement called “Tucker” TV appeared on Russian state broadcaster Rossiya 24, Karlsson entered into a partnership with Russian state television to broadcast his Twitter show on Russian television. There was speculation that they were working on it. Carlson denied the agreement, telling the paper: financial times Schwartz told Forbes that Carlson “knew nothing about this matter.” Immediately after Karlsson left Fox last April, he was approached by Russian media outlet RT (formerly Russia Today), which tweeted that RT asked Karlsson to “ask more questions.” Was. Another Russian state broadcaster, Channel One, also called on Carlson to “come with me” after he was ousted from Fox, and Carlson said: “There’s no need to be afraid to vent your anger on Biden here.” said.
Main background
Mr. Carlson was abruptly fired by Fox last April after 14 years at the right-wing network, including seven years as prime-time host of “Tucker Carlson Tonight.” Fox released a statement saying the top-rated host had “agreed to part ways,” but the breakup seemed to come as a surprise to Carlson, who said he would “be back on Monday” and announce his return to Fox. Finished the last show. The departure comes after months of simmering tensions between the host and the network, with Dominion Voting Systems’ court filing in a defamation case against Fox alleging Carlson’s 2020 election fraud theories surrounding voting machines. It reached a boiling point a month before Carlson was ousted, as it became clear that he had been unofficially interpreting it as follows. He called it “absurd” and “insane” even though he brought a guest on his show who amplified that claim (Fox later settled it for $787.5 million). In those court filings, Carlson privately labeled former Trump attorney Sidney Powell, who promoted the claims, as “toxic” and called former President Donald Trump a “power of the devil.” It was revealed that he also added, “I hate him.”[s] He’s passionate. In May, Carlson announced on Twitter that his show would be relaunched as a prime-time series (now known as He said he was facing it.
References
Tucker Carlson denies Russian TV speculation as ‘Bulls’ (Forbes)
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