Tucker Carlson, lately of Fox News before he was let go, has gone to Russia and interviewed its leader, Vladimir Putin. That interview will be aired on X/Twitter on Thursday, February 8th beginning at 6:00PM EST.
Should you watch it? Apparently not. Here’s one headline from CNN: “Tucker Carlson is in Russia to interview Putin. He’s already doing the bidding of the Kremlin”
Comrade Carlson is a useful idiot! A Kremlin stooge! A Putin puppet! Maybe even a Putin apologist! Geez, you’d think Carlson had become the Mouth of Sauron. (That’s from Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings.)
My opinion? Of course you should watch it, especially if you’re interested in how Russia’s leader sees the world, and how he spins it for his own benefit. Because all leaders do this. They all see the world differently. They all spin it for their own benefit.
When I was a lieutenant in the Air Force, back in the Cold War days, I attended a special course on how the Soviet Union sees the world conducted by two Air Force officers dressed in Soviet uniforms speaking Russian for the sake of authenticity. (They switched to English quickly.) The idea wasn’t to turn us all into Communist comrades. It was to help us gain insight into our main rival. And to learn. Period.
I.F. Stone reminded us that all governments lie. Including, of course, your own, wherever you live. I don’t expect Putin to tell 100% of the truth. I expect him to tell his (slanted) side of the story, from which I expect to gain some insight into how he sees the world, and in particular how he sees the United States and its leaders.
Anyone with a functioning brain should be able to listen to Putin without falling under some kind of spell. It’s not like he has the One Ring of Power or any dark wizardry like that. Right?
Good for Carlson. I'd like to see him interview Edward Snowden since he is in the neighborhood. That would get people yelling and screaming as well.
I saw Jen Psaki, complete with her new false eyelashes, going after Carlson. This is rich since Psaki was the official liar (aka spokesperson) for the State Dept. not so long ago before she went through the revolving door to NBC.
WJA, the session you had back in the service would have been better if those lecturing were telling you how to understand the people who direct what the armed forces do from the White House. That would mean they'd need to be experts in the irrational. Maybe real live Russians would have a better take on the White House than we do. All I can determine is that presidents as a rule have no trouble with killing anywhere in the world and love power so much they crave staying in office.
There's a word for what Mr Carlson is doing with Mr Putin. It's called "Journalism."
For details, see THERE'S NOTHING WRONG WITH TUCKER INTERVIEWING PUTIN. IT'S CALLED JOURNALISM. Nobody Should Ever Apologize For Interviewing A Newsworthy Personality by Zaid Jilani / Publc 7 Feb 24 at https://public.substack.com/p/theres-nothing-wrong-with-tucker .
It will be very interesting to watch; and it will be even more interesting to read.
And Bill: Thank You for the verbal and visual references to Tolkien's Kingdom. They fir perfectly with the whole scenario.