Tucker Carlson Visits Russia, Possibly to Interview Putin

Facts

• Former Fox News host Tucker Carlson was spotted in Moscow on Thursday attending the Spartacus ballet at the Bolshoi Theater.¹
• This prompted questions about whether he was visiting to interview Russian Pres. Vladimir Putin, but when asked, Carlson said, 'We'll see.' He also said he had never visited before, adding he wanted 'to talk to people, look around, and see how it’s doing...and it's doing very well.'¹
• Carlson reportedly sat down to be interviewed by a Russian journalist at his hotel. The interview was released by Russian newspaper Izvestia, which quoted the interviewer as saying Carlson was 'the best American journalist.'²
• The reaction to Carlson's visit was mixed among Western public figures. Previously, Dmitry Peskov, Putin's spokesman, said the 'time will come' for Putin to do an interview with a Western media outlet.³
• According to a post on X, formerly Twitter, Anton Gerashchenko, Ukraine's former Advisor to the Internal Affairs Ministry, Putin doesn't usually sit down with journalists 1-on-1 and hasn't done it since he talked to NBC's Keir Simmons in 2021.⁴
• In September, Carlson told Swiss media outlet Die Weltwoche he tried to interview Putin after the conflict in Ukraine broke out, but the US government stopped him.⁵

Sources: ¹Guardian, ²tass.com, ³The Telegraph, ⁴Independent and ⁵Forbes.

Narratives

• Left narrative, as provided by Vanity Fair. This disturbing development should convince everyone about Carlson's tie to the Kremlin. He's been spreading pro-Russia, anti-Ukraine propaganda for years — to the point where Russian state media used his rhetoric on its TV stations. Carlson has shown his true colors before, but personally interviewing Russia's autocratic leader would be his most dangerous media decision yet.
• Right narrative, as provided by Spectator (UK). Leading journalists used to conduct interviews like this for all sorts of world leaders. Modern-day broadcast journalists are afraid to do so out of fear of being labeled a Russian or Putin apologist. With every other Western media outlet already characterizing Putin as a literal tyrant, if done correctly, Tucker could give the world a fresh, unopinionated report to allow viewers to make informed decisions.