'Everybody involved in Carlson's Putin interview is an enemy of the US and West'

08 February 2024 , 23:04

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Carlson's interview with Putin serves them both

Everyone involved in the controversial interview between US presenter Tucker Carlson and Russian despot Vladimir Putin is an "enemy of the US," an expert has said.

It is Putin’s first interview to a Western media figure since his full-scale invasion of Ukraine two years ago despite requests from a number of outlets. Carlson has repeatedly supported the invasion of Ukraine and criticised US support of the beleaguered country.

Keir Giles, author and researcher studying Russia, told Mirror US: "Tucker Carlson's interview with Putin is good news for everybody involved. The only problem is, everybody involved is an enemy of the United States, of the West, of democracy and of genuine journalism."

Read more: How to watch chat with Vladimir Putin and what time is it?

This is the first interview Putin has given to a western journalist since the invasion of Ukraine (POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

Carlson claimed that Western journalists had interviewed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy multiple times but could not be “bothered” to interview the Russian president.

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Just as Putin will use the interview to boost his legitimacy in the West, so Carlson will reap benefits.

Mr Giles explained: "As so often, Vladimir Putin has found a willing helper in exploiting the self-harming behaviour of Western media outlets. The media frenzy around the interview in the West will provide an enormous boost to Carlson's new media company, and bring him many more viewers. That in turn will ensure that Putin's toxic messages reach a far wider audience than they would have done otherwise - endorsed and boosted by exposure on Elon Musk's X."

Putin has heavily limited his contact with international media since he launched the war in Ukraine in February 2022. Russian authorities have cracked down on media, forcing some independent Russian outlets to close, blocking others and ordering a number of foreign reporters to leave the country. Two journalists working for U.S. news organizations — The Wall Street Journal’s Evan Gershkovich and Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty’s Alsu Kurmasheva — are in jail on charges they reject.

Carlson was spotted in Moscow ahead of the interview (Getty Images)

Mr Giles added: "Putin also wins because of the validation he will get from the interview at home in Russia. There's a good reason he has been refusing to give interviews to genuine journalists - there is a risk they might ask awkward questions about Russia's genocidal conduct in its war of colonial reconquest in Ukraine, or about Putin's own status as an internationally wanted war criminal.

"But by giving an interview to a tame American propagandist instead, Putin can whitewash the lies of the Russian state for millions with impunity."

This is just the latest controversial interview Carlson has offered. Mr Giles said: "People who haven't been following Tucker Carlson lately might not realise that his Putin interview is just the most recent in a series where he has sought out interviewees that responsible media outlets won't touch. Those interviewees include, most recently, Russell Brand and the activist known as Catturd - in between promoting a range of lurid anti-vaccine, anti-Biden, or anti-Western consipiracy theories. Now, the attention in mainstream media that the Putin coup will bring will ensure that those conspiracy theories are spread far wider."

Charlie Jones