It’s official. Tucker Carlson prepares to interview Vladimir Putin. A first for a foreign journalist since the entry of Russian tanks into Ukraine on February 24, 2022. For this former face of Fox News, close to Donald Trump and American conservative circles, the interview of a lifetime. And for the Trumpists who are campaigning in Congress for an end to aid to Ukraine, a godsend.
Not a little proud of his take on the war, Tucker Carlson did not wait for the publication of the interview scheduled for Thursday, February 8 to announce the news to the whole world. On Tuesday, he posted a four-minute video in which he declared: “We are in Moscow this evening, and we are there to interview Vladimir Putin.”
A first aborted attempt
In this video, the champion of American conspiracy accuses the Biden administration of having prevented “almost three years ago” a first attempt to interview the Russian president using espionage and digital surveillance. “They leaked the contents of our messages to their followers in the media,” says Tucker Carlson.
This is why the interview, which has been in the works for “months”, was prepared on the sly. “And this time, we came to Moscow” And to brag: “for having financed the trip without the help of any government.”
Tucker Carlson’s trip to Moscow
Already in August, the editor-in-chief of the pro-Kremlin channel RT, Margarita Simonian, had affirmed that Tucker Carlson “strongly wanted an interview with (Vladimir) Putin”. But until the publication of this video on Tuesday, the mystery about a possible interview remained unsolved. The rumors were reignited when Tucker Carlson was spotted this weekend on the streets of the White City.
The journalist, who reportedly landed in Moscow on Saturday February 3, spent an evening at the famous Bolshoi Theater where he attended the ballet “Spartacus”, and visited an exhibition dedicated to the Russian regions in Moscow. Scrutinized in his every move by the Russian press, he was also seen leaving a presidential administration building the day before his announcement. So many elements likely to suggest that an imminent meeting with Vladimir Putin is looming.
Kremlin confirmation
Meeting confirmed this Wednesday by the Kremlin which specified that it had received numerous requests for interviews from Western media. Enough to brush aside the assertions of Tucker Carlson who boasts of being the only one who wants to speak to the Russian president. “Not a single foreign journalist took the trouble to interview” Vladimir Putin, harangues the former presenter of the show “Tucker Carlson Tonight” on Fox News.
“The American media […] have done dozens of interviews with President Zelensky”, says this close friend of Donald Trump. Interviews that he describes as “reassurance sessions”, “specially designed to amplify Zelensky’s request, who wants the United States to ‘engage deeper in the war in Eastern Europe and pay for it.’ And lecture: ‘It’s not journalism, it’s propaganda!’
Elon Musk’s promise
For Tucker Carlson, the objective is twofold. Inform the Americans who, “most of them have no idea why Putin invaded Ukraine and do not know what his objectives are.” And bring freedom of expression to life. “An inalienable right” that he defends “not because (he) loves Vladimir Putin, but because (he) loves the United States.”
An antiphon taken up by several Republican elected officials close to Donald Trump. “The Democrats and their media propagandists are agitated at the prospect of a Tucker Carlson interview with Putin. […] We have a free press in this country and it’s people like Tucker Carlson who we rely on to tell the truth!” said Georgia Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene on his account.
In his video, Tucker Carlson refers in particular to another figure of unconditional freedom of expression: Elon Musk. According to him, the owner of platform X has undertaken not to delete or block this interview once published on his platform. An interview that Tucker Carlson wishes to be “free” and “accessible to all”.