The explosive Tucker Carlson interview with Russian President Vladimir Putin has already garnered over 202 million views, however the critics, including the Russian leader himself, have called out some key details.
In an interview with Russian state TV, Putin said he expected to win a combat that never took place.
“I honestly thought he would be aggressive and ask so-called sharp questions,” Putin said, according to Politico.
“And I wasn’t just ready for that. I wanted it because it would have given me the opportunity to respond sharply in kind … But he chose a different tactic,” he said.
Putin said Tucker was not as confrontational as he expected.
“He tried to interrupt me several times, but still, surprisingly for a Western journalist, he turned out to be patient and listened to my lengthy dialogues, especially those related to history, and didn’t give me reason to do what I was ready for,” he said.
“So frankly, I didn’t get complete satisfaction from this interview,” he said.
“He fulfilled his plan, but how meaningful it was in the end is not for me to judge,” Putin said, according to the New Republic.
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🇷🇺 President Putin discusses Tucker Carlson's interview tactics.
— DD Geopolitics (@DD_Geopolitics) February 15, 2024
"So, frankly, I did not fully enjoy the interview." pic.twitter.com/eS7Ua99qfD
Others praised the interview,
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Tucker doesn’t treat Putin with kid gloves. I love it. https://t.co/2Ne0WwJjFX
— Vivek Ramaswamy (@VivekGRamaswamy) February 9, 2024
Tucker Carlson has been smeared for days. The legacy media and Democrat establishment are upset at him for simply doing his job.
— Robert F. Kennedy Jr (@RobertKennedyJr) February 8, 2024
Americans can handle thought-provoking conversations. We can handle dangerous thoughts or contrary ideas that don’t fit the MSM narrative. Let us… https://t.co/uLDLeB6VVC
There were other critics of the interview, including former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, whom Putin accused of sabotaging the peace deal with Ukraine.
Johnson called Carlson as a “traitor to journalism,” accusing him of bum-sucking servility to a tyrant” after his interview with Russian president Vladimir Putin.
“He was just the medium, the sewer, the hose by which the untreated slurry of Putin’s message could be sprayed where Putin wants it most — over the fertile heartlands of America,” wrote Johnson in an angry screed on Friday.
Similarly, Hillary Clinton slammed Tucker for his Putin interview by calling him a “useful idiot” and a “puppy dog.”
Clinton said:
“Well, it shows me what I think we’ve all known. He’s what is called a useful idiot. I mean, if you actually read translations of what’s being said on Russian media, they make fun of him.”
“I mean, he’s like a puppy dog. You know, somehow, after having been fired from so many outlets and the United States, he– I would not be surprised if he emerges with a contract with a Russian outlet because he is a useful idiot,” she said.
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Such is the fear they have over #tuckercarlson that they produce senior demon Hillary Clinton to try and tarnish him over his Putin interview; “He's like a puppy dog… He is a useful idiot. He's been fired from so many outlets here in the U.S. that I wouldn't be surprised if he… pic.twitter.com/IAo0LgX4Qh
— David Vance (@DVATW) February 8, 2024
READ: Hillary Clinton Pushes Trump ‘Dictator’ Narrative: ‘Take Him at His Word’
