Press Secretary of the President of the Russian Federation Dmitry Peskov called the resonance that American journalist Tucker Carlson’s interview with Vladimir Putin received is off the charts.

“The interview with Putin is an event that caused a special resonance not only in America, but also in our country... The resonance is sometimes, let’s say, overwhelming. Obviously, this is an interview that has been awaited, which will be read and analyzed for more than one day,” the Kremlin representative said.

At the same time, he noted that Carlson does not need Moscow’s protection from attacks on him by Western media and individual politicians.

“I think he can hold his own. In addition to not entirely sane voices, there are also sane voices in the United States... It is important for us that as many people in the world as possible become familiar with the worldview and point of view of the head of the Russian state,” Peskov concluded.  

  • Dmitry Peskov

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Let us recall that on February 6, Tucker Carlson, who was in Moscow, officially announced an interview with the President of the Russian Federation. The publication of the recording of the conversation with the Russian leader is expected on February 9 at 02:00 Moscow time. However, even before the premiere, the interview caused a flurry of negative responses in Western media.

Thus, The Washington Post published several materials on this topic criticizing the American journalist.

“Carlson often echoed the Kremlin’s propaganda about Russia’s war with Ukraine, criticizing ... Vladimir Zelensky and opposing US military aid to Ukraine,” one of the newspaper’s notes said.

In addition, observers of the publication suggested that the Kremlin is trying to establish contact with the Republicans.

“The Kremlin’s decision to agree to the interview showed that Putin is interested in establishing ties with the destructive element in the Republican Party from among the supporters of the idea of ​​​​returning America to its former greatness. It also appears to reflect the Kremlin's hope that Donald Trump will return to the presidency and that Republicans will continue to block US military aid to Ukraine.

The New York Times newspaper also covered the topic of Moscow's alleged attempts to establish contact with Republicans. Its authors saw in the interview a sign that the Russian leader wants to directly appeal to American conservatives while US aid to Kyiv is in limbo. In addition, the interview could fuel political disagreements over Ukraine within the United States, the publication writes.

MSNBC host Joe Scarborough spoke in a similar vein. In his opinion, Carlson “went over to the other side.”

“Now the Republican Party is doing favors for Vladimir Putin in the House of Representatives, and someone we know (who we knew) has switched sides and is doing favors for Vladimir Putin by criticizing Western journalists and as if to say, 'If only Western journalists would come here.' and at least tried to talk honestly about the war,” The Hill quotes him as saying.

At the same time, Scarborough said that Western journalists who “tried to honestly report” on the events in Ukraine are now “in the Gulag.”

"Treacherous Strike"

Another line of attack against Carlson in the Western media, analysts note, was attempts to accuse him of sympathizing with the Russian leadership. Thus, The Washington Post newspaper in one of its materials recalled to the journalist that he called the conflict that broke out in Ukraine a “border dispute” and for many years denied criticism of Putin.

In this regard, the British television channel Sky News recalled that Carlson often “used Russia and Vladimir Putin in his arguments against the American left, saying that the Democrats were making Moscow a scapegoat for all internal problems (USA -

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) caused by ineffective political leadership "

“In 2017, while hosting Fox News, (Carlson -

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) said that Vladimir Putin poses no threat to the United States and accused the left of believing that the Russian leader is “behind every problem” in the country ", writes Sky News.

In turn, The Independent newspaper wrote that for Carlson the interview with Putin was “a return to his former form,” since for many years the journalist “showed affection for the Russian leader.” The publication’s columnist also believes that Carlson was actively used “in Russian propaganda” to push Russia’s “distorted view” of the conflict.

The topic of Carlson's interview was also discussed by former US Secretary of State and Donald Trump's rival in the 2016 presidential election, Hillary Clinton. On MSNBC, she called Carlson a “useful idiot” who “parrots all the lies that Vladimir Putin says about Ukraine.”

Among the European media, Carlson was also criticized by the French newspaper Le Monde, which called the interview a “treacherous blow” against Joe Biden. According to the publication’s journalists, the conversation with Putin took place very timely - precisely when Donald Trump, to whom Carlson is close, is allegedly doing everything possible to block the release of American aid to Ukraine.

“One can expect objectivity”

The indignation of the Western media was also caused by Carlson’s words that since the beginning of the SVO, not a single Western journalist “has bothered to interview” Vladimir Putin. In this regard, they quoted Dmitry Peskov, who said the day before that the Kremlin was receiving many requests of this kind, including from Western publications.

“Mr. Carlson is wrong, but he, in fact, cannot know this. We receive many requests for interviews with the president,” Peskov explained on February 7.

At the same time, he noted that in the case of Western applications, “we are talking about large online media, traditional television channels, large newspapers, which cannot boast of attempts to at least look impartial” in covering the situation. He emphasized that these media take an exclusively one-sided position.

  • Vladimir Putin

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“Of course, there is no desire to communicate with such media, and there is hardly any point in this, it is unlikely that there can be any benefit from it,” the Kremlin representative added.

Dmitry Peskov emphasized that Tucker Carlson’s position “is contrastingly different from the position of traditional Anglo-Saxon media.” At the same time, the journalist does not take a pro-Russian or pro-Ukrainian position, the presidential press secretary clarified.

According to Pavel Feldman, associate professor at the Academy of Labor and Social Relations, the Kremlin agreed to give an interview to Carlson because he “is not a full-time employee of media corporations and does not serve the interests of anti-Russian elites.”

“Therefore, objectivity can be expected from him. In addition, he is a world-famous journalist with an army of millions of viewers. In terms of audience coverage, it can be compared with the largest foreign media,” the expert said in an interview with RT.

In turn, Dmitry Evstafiev, a professor at the Institute of Media at the National Research University Higher School of Economics, candidate of political sciences, suggested that Carlson, unlike the mainstream Western media, could guarantee that the interview would not be censored.

“After all, there have already been precedents when the filmed interview was then cut up by the editors at their discretion—in fact, it was censored. In addition, during such interviews, sometimes very stupid questions were asked that do not reflect the essence of the problems that arise between Russia and the United States. Carlson was given an interview because at least there was hope for him that he would ask a meaningful question and not repeat informational tinsel,” the political scientist said in a commentary to RT.

“They will be accused of working for the Kremlin”

The Biden administration also reacted to the news about the imminent release of the interview.  

“I won’t get ahead of myself and talk about an interview that hasn’t happened yet... I don’t think we need another interview with Vladimir Putin... to understand his cruelty,” Bely, the strategic communications coordinator at the National Security Council, told reporters at home John Kirby.

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Against this background, in Europe, according to Newsweek, there are already calls to impose sanctions against Carlson. In particular, former Prime Minister of Belgium and now European Deputy Guy Verhofstadt called on Brussels to study the possibility of imposing a “travel ban on EU countries” against Carlson. He also called the journalist a mouthpiece for Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin.

And Estonian Member of the European Parliament Urmas Paet said that the American journalist “may end up on the sanctions list for propaganda” in favor of the Russian authorities.

Analysts believe that even if EU sanctions are introduced, they will not become a big problem for Carlson.

“Having gone to Moscow, Carlson was well aware of the barrage of criticism he would incur. European sanctions are unlikely to bother him. If the EU takes such measures, it will once again blatantly and flagrantly violate the principle of freedom of the press. But this will only increase Carlson’s popularity among right-wing conservatives and ordinary Americans who are tired of the dictatorship of liberal Democrats,” said Pavel Feldman.

At the same time, the political scientist believes that after the publication of the interview, attacks by Western media on the American journalist will only intensify.

“Carlson will be subject to the repressive measures of Western cancel culture. He will definitely be accused of working for the Kremlin. After all, the interview recorded by the journalist with Vladimir Putin puts an end to attempts to drive Russia into an information blockade. American and European citizens will have the opportunity to hear the truth first-hand, which will literally make the leaders of unfriendly countries cringe. Therefore, it is not surprising that they are pouring buckets of dirt on Carlson in order to discredit both him and the material he filmed,” the analyst explained.

In turn, Vladimir Bruter, an expert at the International Institute for Humanitarian and Political Studies, did not rule out that in the future the Washington elites will try to take revenge on Carlson.

“A journalist in the United States will not receive an enthusiastic crowd. If the authorities can punish him for something, they will do it. But it’s not necessary that this will happen right tomorrow,” Bruter said in a commentary to RT.

“They were given a training manual, and they are stupidly practicing it.”

It is worth noting that in the West there were other assessments of Carlson’s interview. Thus, Newsweek columnist Mike Tracy wrote that at a time when relations between Washington and Moscow are going through difficult times, any respected journalist, if given the opportunity, should interview Vladimir Putin without hesitation.

“But it is tiresome and unbearably stupid to suggest that Carlson, simply because he came to Russia with the intention of interviewing Putin, should be found guilty of treason. This is probably the most hackneyed slander in the current American political lexicon,” the author of the article emphasizes.

At the same time, Tracy sarcastically said that US President Joe Biden rarely gives interviews even to American journalists.

“Can anyone imagine Joe Biden even giving interviews to Russian journalists, even before relations deteriorated after the conflict? He hardly gives interviews in the United States either!” — the observer noted.

However, experts note that Tracy’s publication is rather an exception. Otherwise, major Western media were unanimous in condemning Carlson.

“Most mainstream Western media is controlled from one control center - the White House. They were given a training manual, and they are stupidly practicing it, and they are practicing it extremely poorly. They are so nervous about this because the goal of the American administration is to completely clear the information and political space. They almost achieved this within the US and its satellites like the EU. And then suddenly, from within the United States, the destruction of this system begins - the totalitarian monopoly on truth. Hence this reaction,” explained Dmitry Evstafiev.

At the same time, analysts believe that the wave of negativity in Western media regarding Carlson’s interview may have the opposite effect.

“In modern conditions, any scandal only fuels the audience’s interest in the information product. So, by fighting Carlson, the transatlantic elites will probably only add more views to this promising interview,” concluded Pavel Feldman.