Tucker Carlson’s Vladimir Putin interview is already one of the most viewed ever, racking up over 150 million views within the first 24 hours of release on Twitter. The interview also racks up millions of views on other media platforms, including Tucker’s website and YouTube. Along with the immense popularity of this interview comes a ton of positive and negative reactions. Much of the leftist mainstream media is offended at the idea of Tucker interviewing Putin because they believe he will give the Russian President softball questions. Ironically enough, unlike Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Putin does not get much airtime on Western media. And the interviewers who Zelenskyy speaks to shower him with praise and love with 95% softball questions.
The first half hour of Tucker Carlson’s Vladimir Putin interview is composed of Putin giving a history lesson on Russia and the surrounding region. Much of his talk focused on Kievan Rus, the origin point of the people currently living in much of Ukraine and Russia. His ultimate point is that the so-called “Ukrainians” are Russians who were given a separatist identity much later after they had already been part of the Russian Empire. The artificial means upon which the state of Ukraine was created is also what has enabled them to be a puppet state of anti-Russian interests, including Nazi invaders who still plague the Donbas region of Ukraine today.
The interview is over two hours long and does not appear to be edited, aside from the voiceover necessary to translate Putin’s words from his native Russian language into English. Tucker allowed Putin to express himself for extended periods without interruption, but he also asked fair and serious questions.
SOURCES:
In Tucker Carlson interview, Putin urges US to push Ukraine to talks | AP News
Decoding Putin’s ‘obsessive ideas’ in the Tucker Carlson interview | Russia-Ukraine war News | Al Jazeera
‘Talkshow or a serious conversation?’ Tucker Carlson’s interview of Putin offered neither | Tucker Carlson | The Guardian
Tucker Carlson’s Putin interview: 9 takeaways – POLITICO
Putin Calls on U.S. to ‘Negotiate’ on Ukraine in Tucker Carlson Interview – The New York Times
Tucker Carlson releases video of interview with Russian leader Putin – The Washington Post
Tucker Carlson’s Putin interview wasn’t journalism. It was sycophancy | Margaret Sullivan | The Guardian
How Tucker Carlson’s two-hour interview of Russia’s Vladimir Putin went : NPR
Putin Says He Is Open to Exchange of WSJ’s Evan Gershkovich for Russian Prisoner – WSJ
Tucker Carlson: Russian state media revels in Moscow visit