Joe Scarborough Calls Tucker Carlson — Or Someone Very Much Like Him — a ‘Useful Idiot’ For Blaming America for Putin’s Invasion

Though Joe Scarborough didn’t cite Tucker Carlson by name, he sure seemed to make an apparent reference to the Fox News host Wednesday when he called out “useful idiots” on “American stations” spouting pro-Putin commentary before and after the Ukrainian invasion.

The Morning Joe host followed The Atlantic’s Jeffrey Goldberg, who noted how the Russian invasion of Ukraine had changed the world view of many American citizens. Scarborough directly connected to the Cold War era and the threat of nuclear destruction when tensions were high between the United States and the Soviet Union in the late 70s to early 80s.

“We grew up looking at useful idiots from the far left telling us, come on, there’s really not much of a difference between Russia,” he said. “Now, we’re hearing the useful idiots on the right who, three weeks ago, they were saying Putin will never invade. Now, they’re saying, why don’t they just go back — and perhaps they are — and lifting words from the far, far left, saying, okay, yeah, Putin did invade, but it is America’s fault.”

Anyone paying close attention to the 8 PM hour on Fox News knows that Tucker Carlson largely dismissed the looming invasion, referred to it as a “border conflict,” and blamed American officials for threatening Vladimir Putin with talk of Ukraine joining NATO.

Carlson has admitted he got it wrong on the Russia-Ukraine conflict after an invasion has led to hundreds if not thousands of civilian casualties, including many children and elderly. However, he still insists that the United States is at fault for Russia invading Ukraine because “permanent Washington” has always wanted a war with Russia. Yes, these were actual points that Tucker Carlson made on Fox News over the past few weeks.

Webster’s Dictionary defines the term “useful idiot” as “a naive or credulous person who can be manipulated or exploited to advance a cause or political agenda.” Still, in more political or intelligence terms, it’s considered a derogatory term for a person perceived as propagandizing a cause without fully comprehending the cause’s goals.

Scarborough is correct in noting that, even in the thick of the Cold War, there were far-left commentators that would promote the socialist governing style of the Soviet Union. Now it is the far right — or in this instance, Tucker Carlson — who appears to be carrying the water for the authoritarian Russian president for reasons we do not yet fully understand.

It might be time to dust off the old Duck and Cover advert.

Watch above via MSNBC.