Tucker Carlson, Who Downplayed Putin’s Invasion of Ukraine and Slammed Aid to the Country, Offered Job by Kremlin-Backed Russia Today

Russia Today, the Kremlin-backed cable news network, tweeted at Tucker Carlson on Monday shortly after he was fired from Fox News to seemingly offer him a job.

Fox News sent shockwaves through the media industry by firing its top-rated host less than a week after it agreed to pay $787.5 million in a defamation settlement with Dominion Voting Systems. Fox News is also facing a lawsuit brought by a former producer for Tucker Carlson Tonight, who alleges the company allowed a toxic workplace atmosphere of sexual harassment and misogyny.

Carlson has repeatedly downplayed Russia’s attempts to meddle in the 2016 presidential election on behalf of Donald Trump. More recently, he has endeared himself to Moscow by offering stridently anti-Ukraine commentary, even after Russia launched a war of aggression against the country in February 2022. His commentary has been featured multiple times on Russian state media.

Ahead of the invasion, Carlson spent months mocking the idea that Russia’s military buildup near its border with Ukraine signaled an imminent attack. After the invasion, he criticized the Biden administration for sending aid to the besieged country, stating that doing so will bring the U.S. and Russia closer to war. He also demonized Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky as an autocrat and – bizarrely – a “strip club manager.”

“Hey @TuckerCarlson, you can always question more with @RT,” Russia Today wrote on Twitter, suggesting the network is willing to hire Carlson.

Earlier this month, Carlson cited leaked intelligence reports to claim U.S. soldiers are fighting the Russians in Ukraine. A White House spokesman denied this, saying the troops are providing security at the American embassy in the country.

Carlson has not been particularly critical of Russian President Vladimir Putin, whose well-earned reputation as a killer and a despot received muted treatment on his old show.

Shortly before Russia’s invasion last year, Carlson rattled off a series of problems facing the U.S. and declared, “Vladimir Putin didn’t do any of that.”