Even Putin’s Press Secretary Is Calling Tucker Carlson Out For Lying About His Interview With Russian Leader

The Press Secretary for the Russian President has effectively called Tucker Carlson a liar for his baseless claim that no Western journalists have sought to interview Vladimir Putin.

Carlson is the former Fox News host turned wannabe internet influencer, who revealed in a video posted Tuesday that he was in Moscow for an interview with the alleged war criminal responsible for the deaths of hundreds of thousands of people in Ukraine. Carlson has long been criticized for being a Putin apologist, so a softball interview with Putin feels inevitable, but it is no less disgusting in the eyes of Carlson’s critics.

Carlson made many specious claims in his 4-minute video, but one that stuck out was, “Not a single Western journalist has bothered to interview the president of the other country involved in this conflict, Vladimir Putin.” CNN’s Christiane Amanpour effectively called bullshit, as did a slew of other international journalists.

Carlson’s claims were so absurd that even Dmitry Peskov said they were wrong. The long-time Putin press secretary told the New York Times, “Mr. Carlson is not correct, but he couldn’t have known that. We receive a lot of requests for interviews with the president.”

The New York Times also reported that the Carlson interview was a direct appeal to American conservatives:

Tucker Carlson, the former Fox News host, has interviewed President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia, the Kremlin said on Wednesday, a sign that the Russian leader is seeking to make a direct appeal to American conservatives as U.S. aid to Ukraine hangs in the balance.

Dmitri S. Peskov, the Kremlin’s spokesman, said Mr. Carlson had conducted the interview on Tuesday. He did not say when it would be released.

Carlson’s interview with Putin comes as Congress looks to vote on a $60 billion aid package in support of Ukraine against the military invasion of Russian troops directed by Putin.