What to expect from Tucker Carlson’s interview with Vladimir Putin
The Russian president sees an opportunity to deliver his views to a swath of the American public that backs the Republican opposition on assistance for Ukraine.
The clock is ticking down to the airing of Tucker Carlson’s interview with Vladimir Putin – an opportunity for the Russian leader to bolster Republican opposition to providing further aid to Ukraine, the country he invaded nearly two years ago.
It comes at a pivotal time. Billions of dollars of assistance to Ukraine are stuck in a political deadlock in Congress, and Russian forces push forward on the battlefield against Ukrainian troops suffering from an acute shortage of ammunition and arms.
Set to air at 6pm ET Thursday (10am Friday, AEDT) on the website of Carlson’s startup, TuckerCarlson.com, and X, Putin’s first interview with a member of the US media since the invasion could also help cement the former Fox News star’s reputation as a man who can get figures such as former president Donald Trump and Argentine president Javier Milei to sit down and talk.
Putin has long called on the West to cease its support for Ukraine, saying the military aid risks prolonging the war. By speaking with Carlson, analysts say, the Russian president sees an opportunity to deliver his views to a swath of the American public that backs the Republican stance against such support.
“The interview is a platform for Putin to access American viewers and garner support for his narrative,” said Russian political analyst Tatyana Stanovaya. “He will probably position himself as someone who advocates for a cease fire in contrast to a US administration he accuses of prolonging the conflict.” In a video promoting the interview on Tuesday, Carlson said it was important for Americans to understand Putin’s views given how the war in Ukraine is reshaping the world. Carlson also claimed that “not a single Western journalist has bothered” to interview Putin.
Numerous Western outlets have requested meetings with Putin, only to be rebuffed. Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Wednesday that the Kremlin deems such outlets to be biased and praised the stance of Carlson, a far-right commentator who has previously criticised support for Ukraine and urged more understanding of Russia’s position.
When Carlson was ousted from Fox in April last year, a Russian state TV anchor described him as “the only American journalist who told the truth.” His trip to Moscow comes as many opponents of the Kremlin are serving long jail sentences for speaking out against the war in Ukraine. Russia has severely limited the ability of Western reporters to cover the country, stripping many of their accreditation.
Wall Street Journal correspondent Evan Gershkovich, meanwhile, has been detained since March 2023 on an espionage charge that he, the Journal, and the US government vehemently deny. He was accredited by Russia’s foreign ministry to work as a journalist. The US has designated Gershkovich as wrongfully detained, a status that commits it to working to secure his release.
A second American journalist, Alsu Kurmasheva – who holds dual US-Russian citizenship and is a journalist for Prague-based Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty – was taken into custody in October on a charge that she failed to register as a foreign agent. The offence carries a potential jail term of up to five years. Kurmasheva, who is based in Prague, wasn’t among the individuals designated as foreign agents and she wasn’t doing any reporting in Russia during her visit, her company said.
In December, Russian authorities opened a new criminal case against Kurmasheva on an allegation that she spread false information about Russia’s military, her company said. If convicted on this charge, she could be sentenced to up to 15 years of imprisonment.
The interview with Carlson also is a chance for Putin to boost his standing domestically and demonstrate that he can still make his voice heard in the West just over a month before a presidential election that is widely expected to give him another six years in power.
He is more confident about his war in Ukraine, too. Kyiv’s troops are seriously disadvantaged amid shortages of all kinds of equipment, with the most immediate issue being a shortage of artillery shells. The Ukrainians say Russian forces are outshooting them by about 10 Russian shells to each one they fire.
The European Union agreed last week to a $US54 billion ($83bn) budget-aid package that will help Ukraine pay salaries, pensions and other basic services, but Kyiv is relying on the US assistance to cover its full budget gap for 2024 and maintain crucial military supplies. Europe lacks the Pentagon’s well-stocked arsenals and ability to quickly expand production of vital supplies such as artillery shells.
Republicans this week blocked a legislative package that linked assistance to Ukraine and Israel to policy changes at the southern border, and Democrats are trying to pin down GOP support for a separate bill that would provide such assistance. The timing of Putin’s interview could be aimed at sinking all prospects of that bill passing, analysts said.
The interview is also a chance for Putin to try and frame the US foreign policy debate ahead of elections in November that are expected to pit President Biden against Trump, who has been encouraging a wing of the Republican Party that questions continued American support for Ukraine – citing the mounting price tag and a perceived lack of transparency about US goals.
“The goal is to help Republicans to further block the next package of help to Ukraine,” said Abbas Gallyamov, a former Kremlin speechwriter turned Putin critic.
Carlson, meanwhile, has been treated like a celebrity during his time in Moscow. Russian state media has breathlessly followed his moves in the Russian capital, airing footage of him being mobbed by Russian journalists as he left his hotel on Wednesday and reporting that he managed to say the word “Spasibo” – “thank you” in Russian – as he purchased a burger at the Russian version of fast food chain McDonald’s the same day.
Vladimir Solovyov, a staunchly pro-Putin TV presenter with a large following, said Carlson is feared in the West because he’s able to break through a mainstream narrative that Russia’s war is unprovoked and unjustified.
“It’s important for us that as many people as possible acquaint themselves with the worldview and opinion of the Russian leader,” Peskov, the Kremlin spokesman, said on Thursday.
The Wall Street Journal
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