Tucker Carlson has confirmed that he is in Moscow to interview Vladimir Putin – and he is doing so because “Americans are uninformed” about the war in Ukraine, he said Tuesday.
The former Fox News host quit
Carlson, 54, said the interview will be broadcast “unedited” on his website, without a paywall and on X, making him the first American to interview Putin since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022.
“Two years into a world-changing war, most Americans are uninformed,” the conservative commentator said of the war 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.”
It is not clear when Carlson's video statement was recorded and whether the interview has already taken place. He did not say when the session would be broadcast.
Tucker Carlson has announced that he interviewed Vladimir Putin because “Americans are not informed about the war in Ukraine.”
Carlson would be the first American to interview Putin since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022
Russian state media Sputnik claimed on Monday that Carlson was seen 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.
The video statement follows days of speculation about Carlson's trip to Moscow and whether it would include an interview with the tyrant.
Putin has not engaged with an American journalist since June 2021, when he spoke to NBC's Keir Simmons.
Russian state media fueled the rumors on Monday by releasing a video purporting to show Carlson leaving the Russian presidential administration. However, the medium still did not want to confirm that the interview took place.
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
The former Fox News star was undeterred on Monday after Russian media showed pictures of him in several locations in Moscow, including in a box at the Bolshoi Theater and eating at a hotel.
“It’s beautiful,” Carlson said of Moscow in an interview with the Izvestia newspaper. “I just wanted to see it because I’ve read so much about it but I’ve never seen it before.”
Asked if he was in Moscow to interview Putin, Carlson said, “We'll see” and smiled.
The Kremlin has also refused to confirm that Putin would sit down with the American podcaster.
Carlson reportedly arrived in the capital on February 1 and was seen at a performance of Spartacus at the Bolshoi Theater.
In 2021, Carlson claimed the National Security Agency began spying on him after he said he attempted to interview Putin.
Carlson said his communications were intercepted by the NSA and that his identity – which by law should be kept secret – was “exposed” by senior intelligence officials.
He claimed the contents of his emails and text messages were subsequently distributed to discredit him.
The conservative, who has defended Putin in the past, has spoken out against U.S. support for Ukraine and suggested the West was responsible for the invasion.
His show “Tucker Carlson Tonight” was once the most-watched cable news program in the United States before it was canceled in April 2023.