Vladimir Putin's propagandists have predicted that Tucker Carlson's interview with the Russian president will “blow up” the United States. One of them remarked, “God willing, there will be a civil war!”
Carlson announced Tuesday that he was in Moscow to speak with Putin, claiming that other Western journalists had not bothered to speak with the Russian leader.
Carlson, who has hosted a provocative chat show on
Russian state media rejoiced at the expected “revelations.”
“If Tucker dares to broadcast this interview in the United States, it will, first and foremost, break their information blockade from within,” political scientist Sergey Mikheyev said, according to an analysis of Russian media by The Daily Beast.
Tucker Carlson has announced that he interviewed Vladimir Putin because “Americans are not informed about the war in Ukraine.”
Political scientist Sergey Mikheyev said Monday evening that Carlson's interview with Putin will “break the information blockade in the United States.”
Mikheyev, the website said, predicted that Putin's interview would be more interesting than anything American politicians said.
He added that both the Democratic and Republican elites were “uninteresting and stupid” and said that Carlson's interview would have some “interesting” consequences if it were released to an ignorant American public.
The host of the show “The Evening With Vladimir Solovyov” added: “It will blow them to pieces!”
Mikheyev said hopefully: “God willing, there will be a civil war!”
Russian state media focused on covering Carlson's interview in his home country, showing montages from CNN and MSNBC discussing the trip.
They showed footage of Carlson in the restaurant of his hotel with his team and his arrival at the airport. They shared photos of him in a theater and said his trip to Moscow was probably a revelation.
According to Russian media, former Fox News host Tucker Carlson (center), 54, was spotted in the Russian capital at a performance of Spartacus at the Bolshoi Theater
A picture of Carlson appears to show him at a performance of Spartacus at the Bolshoi Theater
Alexei Venediktov, former editor of Ekho Moskvy radio station, tweeted: “As far as I know, Tucker Carlson got what he wanted.”
A talk show host, Evgeny Popov, said Carlson “charged his smartphone via a USB port and connected it to fast and free Wi-Fi internet.”
He added: “American citizens cannot even dream of such wonders of civilization.”
Carlson, meanwhile, boasted that he was the only journalist curious enough to hear Putin's views.
Steve Rosenberg, the BBC's veteran Moscow correspondent, responded to X: “Interesting to hear @TuckerCarlson claim that no Western journalist has bothered to interview Putin since the invasion of Ukraine.” Submitted several requests to the Kremlin over the past 18 months. “Always a 'no' for us.”
CNN's Christiane Amanpour tweeted: “Does Tucker really think we journalists haven't tried to interview President Putin every day since his all-out invasion of Ukraine?” It's absurd – we'll keep asking for an interview like we already have have been doing for years.”
Others pointed out that two U.S. journalists – Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich and Radio Free Europe-Radio Liberty editor Alsu Kurmasheva – were both in prison for reporting inside Russia.
And although Putin is known for avoiding interviews with Western media, interviews do occasionally occur.
Putin speaks with Megyn Kelly in June 2017
Putin is pictured talking to Fox News host Chris Wallace in 2018
Putin spoke to NBC's Keir Simmons in 2021: his latest interview with Western media
In 2017, Putin spoke to Megyn Kelly for NBC News and again the following year; Chris Wallace won Fox News its first Emmy nomination for his 2018 Putin interview. In June 2021, Putin spoke to NBC's Keir Simmons.
He has not given any interviews to Western media since the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
Carlson has made no secret of his desire to interview Putin, whom he regularly praises as a strong leader.
In July 2021, Carlson said he tried to arrange an interview with Putin when he was being “spied on by the NSA.”
The then-Fox News host said his communications were intercepted by the National Security Agency and that his identity – which should have been kept secret by law – was “exposed” by senior intelligence officials. Carlson claimed the contents of his emails and text messages were subsequently disseminated to discredit him.
“Late this spring, I contacted a few people who I thought could help me get an interview with Russian President Vladimir Putin,” Carlson told his viewers.
“I didn’t tell anyone I was doing this except my executive producer Justin Wells,” Carlson said.
“But the Biden administration still found out by reading my emails.”
The NSA took the highly unusual step of denying his claim, but Carlson insisted that his emails were intercepted.
On Tuesday evening, Carlson promised that his interview with Putin would be insightful.
He said he was doing it because “Americans are not informed about the war in Ukraine.”
“Two years into a world-changing war, most Americans are uninformed,” the conservative commentator said of the conflict in Ukraine.
“They have no real idea what is happening in this region. But they should know that they are paying for a lot of it in ways that they may not be fully aware of.”
He did not say when the session would be broadcast.
Carlson would be the first American to interview Putin since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022
Russian state media Sputnik broadcast footage on Monday that appears to show Carlson's car leaving the Kremlin.
“Americans have the right to know as much as they can about a war in which they are involved,” Carlson added in the four-minute clip recorded in Moscow.
He went on to call the world's English-language media corrupt, claiming they were “lying to their readers and viewers” and that it was “his duty to inform the public.”
Carlson repeated the unconfirmed claim that the Biden administration illegally spied on him three years ago to stop him from interviewing Putin. He then claimed that the federal government had “done the same thing again.”
“But this time we still came to Moscow,” he said, adding that he paid for the trip himself, “and did not accept any money from any government or group.”
“We are not here because we love Vladimir Putin.” “We are here because we love the United States and want it to remain prosperous and free,” Carlson claimed.
The commentator also stated that Elon Musk “promised not to suppress or block this interview.”
“In contrast, Western governments will certainly do their best to censor this video and other less principled platforms, because that's what they do,” Carlson added.