Tucker Carlson, a conservative American talk show host close to former US president Donald Trump, said Tuesday he was in Moscow to interview Russian President Vladimir Putin.
“We’re here to interview the president of Russia, Vladimir Putin. We’ll be doing that soon,” Carlson said in a video posted on X, formerly Twitter.
“There are risks to conducting an interview like this obviously. So we’ve thought about it carefully over many months.”
Carlson, known for radical conservative opinions and his long association with Trump, did not specify when the interview will be broadcast but mentioned that it will be free to watch on his personal website.
After being ousted last April from a primetime hosting slot on the influential right-wing network Fox News, Carlson launched a show on the Elon Musk-owned social media platform.
In the video, he explained his reasons to travel to Moscow — which he said was a self-financed trip — to interview Putin. The trip and growing rumors that Carlson was set to meet with the Kremlin leader have already drawn strong rebukes from liberal American media commentators.
“First because it’s our job. We’re in journalism. Our duty is to inform people. Two years into a war (with Ukraine) that is reshaping the entire world, most Americans are not informed,” Carlson said.
“They have no real idea what is happening in this region. Here in Russia or 600 miles away in Ukraine. But they should know. They’re paying for much of it.”
US and other international media have been covering the conflict in Ukraine intensively since the Russian assault began two years ago. However, Carlson’s access to Putin would be a huge contrast with the restraints on US journalists in Russia, where two US citizens — Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich and Radio Free Europe’s Alsu Kurmasheva are in detention.
The announcement comes as President Joe Biden said Tuesday that Congress will play into the Kremlin’s hands if it fails to renew US funding for Ukraine’s fight against Russia’s attack.
Biden blamed Trump for playing politics with US security.
The “clock is ticking” for Ukraine, Biden said, calling out the former president and his likely 2024 rival for discouraging lawmakers from passing a $118 billion bill which ties Ukraine aid to immigration curbs, and which Republicans have threatened to block.
As a Fox News host, Carlson massed a record viewership.
He aired a firestorm of conspiracy theories — from the “great replacement” of white Americans to vaccine falsehoods and anti-transgender propaganda — and was quick to spread disinformation, particularly Trump’s baseless claims of fraud in the 2020 election.
He was ousted after a defamation case, in which Dominion Voting Systems accused Fox News of airing false claims after the election.
Carlson moved his show to X, where his videos have been viewed more than 100 million times.
Fox News has launched a legal battle to halt his shows, arguing they violate the terms of his contract.
