Tucker Carlson plans to publish his interview with Putin soon. A political scientist sees this as Putin’s strategy. The reactions remain to be seen.
Moscow/Washington, DC – The right-wing US talk show host Tucker Carlson has announced the publication of his interview with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday night (Thursday, 6 p.m. local time in Washington). It is Putin’s first in-depth conversation with a US interviewer since the start of the Ukraine war almost two years ago.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Wednesday that the former Fox News presenter, who has since left Moscow, could himself decide on the timing of publication. Carlson, 54, has been touting the interview as a major media event for days. Because of the meeting with Putin, Carlson is threatening you Newsweek-According to the report, however, there are consequences because he was known in the past for spreading conspiracy theories and false reports.
His decision to provide Putin with a forum is seen by many as problematic, especially given the increasing repression against journalists in Russia. Carlson defended himself against the allegations by describing the conversation as a contribution to press freedom.
Propaganda instead of freedom of the press: Carlson’s interview plays into Vladimir Putin’s hands
Carlson has been repeatedly accused of defending Putin’s leadership and invasion of Ukraine, for which he was praised by Kremlin propagandists. Critics accused him of offering support to Putin and other authoritarian leaders and spreading his positions in Russian state media.
Putin probably agreed to the interview shortly before the presidential election in Russia on March 17th because he currently sees an advantage and benefit for himself in his war against Ukraine, said Russian political scientist Tatjana Stanovaya. The Kremlin chief is betting that Western aid to Kiev with ammunition and weapons will decline, that the USA will be busy with its own presidential election in the fall and that internal political problems in Ukraine will increase.
The aim of the interview was to convince the West to abandon Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in order to pressure a new leadership in Kiev to negotiate with Moscow, said the expert living abroad. Putin uses Carlson as access to the US audience.
Former Fox News star: Tucker Carlson wants to publish Putin interview on X
The former Fox News host reaches millions of people via social networks. He is against US financing of the war. Tucker Carlson plans to publish the interview in its entirety for free on social media and his own website. It remains to be seen how the international community and the media landscape will react to the publication of the interview.
Carlson was fired from Fox News last year. He hosted a high-ratings evening show there for years. He used this to spread conspiracy theories and false reports and to agitate against minorities. Shortly afterwards he started his own show on X. (nak/dpa)
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