Former Fox News host Tucker Carlson confirmed speculation he’s in Russia for an interview with Vladimir Putin.
“We’re in journalism,” he said in a video posted to social media. “Our duty is to inform people.”
Why I'm interviewing Vladimir Putin. pic.twitter.com/hqvXUZqvHX
— Tucker Carlson (@TuckerCarlson) February 6, 2024
Carlson was first spotted in Moscow over the weekend attending a performance at the Bolshoi Theater. When asked Monday if an interview with Russia’s president was on his agenda, he told Kremlin-adjacent newspaper Izvestia, “We’ll see.” But the 54-year-old right-wing provocateur made clear Tuesday that was his plan and offered an explanation.
“Two years into a war that’s reshaping the entire world, most Americans are not informed,” Carlson said of Russia’s war with Ukraine, which began in February 2022. “They have no real idea what’s happening in this region.”
Carson also thanked Elon Musk “to his great credit” for allowing his unedited Putin interview to be posted on social media platform X, which began hosting Carlson’s content after Fox News dumped the former primetime host in April. The “live to tape” interview will also appear on TuckerCarlson.com at a time not yet announced.
According to Carlson, he’s not interviewing the Russian leader because “we love Vladimir Putin,” but rather because “we love the United States.”
Carlson has been heavily criticized for numerous comments he’s made sympathetic to the way Putin and his politics are perceived in the U.S.
“Has Putin ever called me a racist?” Carlson, whose racially charged rhetoric is well-documented, asked Fox News viewers in 2022. “Has he threatened to get me fired for disagreeing with him? These are fair questions, and the answer to all of them is ‘No.’ Vladimir Putin didn’t do any of that.”
Russian state television has also been known to praise Carlson’s work. In 2020, progressive media outlet Mother Jones reported that the Kremlin told Russian media outlets “it is essential” they promote reporting by Carlson that’s critical of the U.S.
Since leaving television, Carlson has posted interviews with former President Donald Trump, alleged human trafficker Andrew Tate and fraudster Larry Sinclair, who claims to have had “a night of crack cocaine-fueled sex” with former President Barack Obama.
