Trump supporter, conspiracy theorist… who is Tucker Carlson, the celebrity host who interviewed Vladimir Putin?

This is the first time. Tucker Carlson is the first foreign journalist to interview Vladimir Putin since the war in Ukraine began in February 2022. The interview will air this Thursday at midnight French time (18:00 Washington time) on the host’s platform. The former star of the conservative Fox News Channel, 54, achieved a media coup in the midst of negotiations over US aid to Ukraine.

“We are not here because we love Vladimir Putin. We are here because we love the United States,” he chants in an interview video broadcast Tuesday on his X (formerly Twitter) account, overlooking Moscow.

Tucker Carlson boasted that he was the only one who gave the floor to the Russian president, which several Anglo-Saxon journalists called “absurd.” The Kremlin also denied this, saying it had received interview requests from Western media. But Tucker Carlson takes “a position that contrasts with the position of traditional Anglo-Saxon media,” said Dmitry Peskov, the Russian president’s press secretary.

Former Fox News star

The journalist became one of the conservative faces thanks to the popular show “Tucker Carlson Tonight,” which aired on the Fox News Channel from 2016 to 2023. Anti-abortion, gun rights advocate… Tucker Carlson talks to some of Trump’s America supporters. In August 2023, when the former president was indicted, he condemned the “political purge.”

His detractors have accused him of playing into racist theories by openly sharing his stance against immigration, race and LGBT rights. He is accused of promoting racial superiority. The New York Times published a text exchange between Carlson and the producer dated January 6, 2021, in the midst of the invasion of the Capitol by pro-Trump protesters. In response to images of the attack, Carlson reportedly wrote: “That’s not how a white man fights. »

His departure in April 2023 caused a media earthquake across the Atlantic. Although no official reason was given, Fox News at the same time signed a $787.5 million settlement with electronic voting machine company Dominion to avoid a libel suit. Together with Fox News, the journalist was suspected of making unsubstantiated accusations of fraud in the 2020 presidential election, which Joe Biden won.

Shortly after, Donald Trump said he was “shocked” and “surprised” by the departure. “He is a very good person, very talented and, as you know, he is very well listened to (on TV),” he responded on another conservative channel, NewsMax. “I think Tucker is great, especially last year he was great with me,” he added.

“The media is corrupt”

According to Tucker Carlson, questioning Putin should help Americans form their “own opinion” about the conflict as a “citizen.”With), and not as a slave (With)”. By spreading conspiracy theories, the American puts himself above the traditional media, which in his eyes are “corrupt.” “Nobody is telling the truth,” he claims. Press interview given to Vladimir Zelensky? “Government propaganda (WHO) kills people, he sweeps away. “Western governments will probably censor parts of the interview because they are afraid of information they cannot control,” he denounces.

In his self-promotional video, the “storytelling” enthusiast believes that “most Americans are misinformed” about the war in Ukraine: “They should know what they’re paying so much money for, to the point that they probably don’t fully realize. »

The timing of this interview is opportune, as the US Congress has postponed a vote on aid to Ukraine until Thursday. The United States, Ukraine’s main military sponsor, has already allocated more than $110 billion through Congress and has been trying to send more funds to Kyiv for months. This Thursday, NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg deemed it “essential” that Congress continue to support Ukraine, saying that “a Russian victory will weaken us and embolden not only Moscow, but also China, Iran and North Korea.”

He accuses the White House of “espionage”

Finally, Carlson also intends to take a swipe at re-election candidate Joe Biden and the Democratic camp more broadly. He accuses the White House of “spying” on his team’s phones to interfere with a previous interview with the Russian president. White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre called the comments “ridiculous.”

Hillary Clinton, former Democratic presidential candidate and Secretary of State under Barack Obama, called Carlson Putin a “useful idiot” on MSNBC.

The interview will also be closely scrutinized in Europe, a week after the EU allocated 50 billion euros to Ukraine. Voices are already being heard, including that of Member of the European Parliament Guy Verhofstadt (“Renewal”). He accuses Carlson of “playing on Putin’s disinformation” and calls for him to be banned from traveling to the European Union.