However Carlson’s monologue, during which he lambasted Western media and claimed it wasn’t making an effort to listen to Putin’s facet of the story, has sparked backlash from American and Russian journalists.
“Many journalists have interviewed Putin, who additionally makes frequent, extensively coated speeches,” wrote Anne Applebaum, an American journalist and historian, on X (previously Twitter). “Carlson’s interview is completely different as a result of he isn’t a journalist, he’s a propagandist, with a historical past of serving to autocrats conceal corruption.”
Carlson, who was ousted by Fox final yr, stated the interview can be revealed “unedited” and “not behind a paywall” on his private web site. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov on Wednesday confirmed that the interview had already taken place, however didn’t share when it will air.
Whereas Western media retailers have achieved “scores of interviews” with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Carlson stated, “not a single Western journalist has bothered to interview the president of the opposite nation concerned on this battle, Vladimir Putin.”
“Most Individuals do not know why Putin invaded Ukraine or what his objectives at the moment are,” he stated. “They’ve by no means heard his voice. That’s mistaken.”
Whereas it’s true that Carlson would be the first American to interview Putin for the reason that begin of Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine virtually two years in the past, journalists from main retailers in the USA and Europe have been fast to level out that this isn’t for lack of making an attempt.