Why did journalist Tucker Carlson come to Moscow?

In early February, the famous American TV presenter and journalist Tucker Carlson was noticed in Moscow: on February 3, a photograph of Carlson taken at the Bolshoi Theater was published online.

The news about the presenter's visit to the Russian capital caused a wide resonance, and in the United States Carlson was even called a traitor – American media believe that the purpose of the journalist's trip was an interview with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Carlson himself did not refute or confirm this statement, but only shrugged his shoulders when asked about a possible interview.

But the journalist has not yet responded to the numerous offers that began to come to him in Moscow. Thus, he was invited to become a guest on the “Will Show” on the TNT channel, and the head of the Russian Union of Journalists, Vladimir Solovyov, assured that he was ready to accept Carlson into the organization. What is the American presenter known for and why did his visit to Russia cause such a resonance?

Carlson said he wanted to look at Russia

According to Carlson, he came to Moscow because he wanted to see “how everything works.”

Soon after the media began writing about the journalist’s visit, former member of the US House of Representatives Adam Kinzinger called Carlson a traitor. And the American edition of Newsweek statedthat Carlson’s appearance in the Russian capital caused “heavy speculation.” “Tucker Carlson appears to have been photographed in Moscow amid rumors of an interview with Putin,” reported British media The Telegraph.

Western media claim that Carlson came to Moscow to interview Putin

The journalist himself, when asked whether he plans to talk with the Russian President, replied: “We’ll see.” However, American political scientist John Varoli assured that Carlson came to Moscow precisely for the interview with Putin. Journalist Jackson Hinkle also expressed hope that his colleague would interview the Russian leader.

Bloomberg, citing a source, also statedthat the Kremlin is discussing the possibility of Putin interviewing Carlson.

At the same time, Kremlin official representative Dmitry Peskov said that Putin does not yet have plans to interview foreign media. “As for possible interviews of the president, including with foreign media, at the moment we have nothing to tell you,” Peskov said.

According to the Tsargrad publication, Carlson has already conducted an interview in Russia. Information about this was confirmed to the TV channel directly by the person whose conversation became the main purpose of the presenter’s visit to the country. At the same time, the name of the American journalist’s interlocutor is not mentioned.

Carlson accused the American authorities of disrupting the interview with Putin

Carlson has repeatedly claimed that he planned to interview Putin, but American authorities prevented this. Thus, in March 2023, he stated that the US National Security Agency (NSA) was monitoring him, since he then intended to talk with the Russian president. And in the fall of the same year, the TV presenter accused the American government of disrupting the conversation with Putin.

Press Secretary of the Russian President Dmitry Peskov, against the backdrop of Carlson’s autumn statement about the breakdown of his conversation with Putin, said that the time for an interview with the Russian leader to Western media had not yet come, but assured that such a moment would definitely come. When asked whether Carlson could act as an interviewer, he responded with the phrase “we’ll wait and see.”

Moreover, Carlson more than once interviewed from major politicians and heads of state. He spoke with former US President Donald Trump, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban and Argentine President Javier Miley.

Carlson is known for his conservative views and provocative statements.

Carlson made his first television appearance in 1995. On CBS's 48 Hours program, he took part in a discussion of the case of athlete O.J. Simpson, accused of double murder. After that, he began to appear regularly on television. Carlson also co-hosted two television shows on CNN and hosted his own progr
ams on MSNBC and PBS.

The journalist is best known for his collaboration with the Fox News channel, where he worked from 2009 to 2023. There, Carlson hosted his own program Tucker Carlson Tonight, in which he commented on current socio-political events. The show was watched by millions: only in April 2023, before Carlson’s dismissal, the number of viewers of the show amounted to an average of 3.06 million.

On television, Carlson expressed conservative views. He supported former US President Donald Trump and criticized President Joe Biden. After the start of the special operation in Ukraine, he repeatedly criticized Kyiv and condemned military assistance to the country from the United States. For example, Carlson proposed checking the accounts of Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky and called large US spending on Ukraine a crime against the country.

The journalist's statements have repeatedly provoked scandals. In 2018 he statedthat immigrants are making America dirtier and poorer, after which several advertisers abandoned Tucker Carlson Tonight. On another occasion, Carlson was widely criticized for standing up for 17-year-old American Kyle Rittenhouse, who shot and killed two people during riots in the United States during protests associated with the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement.

Carlson has been repeatedly accused of racism, sexism, and hatred of LGBT people (the international LGBT social movement is recognized as an extremist organization and is banned in Russia). However, controversial statements did not prevent him from remaining popular, mainly among Trump supporters. In 2021 TIME magazine named him “perhaps the most influential conservative in America.” “Wherever Tucker Carlson goes, America will follow.” stated in 2023, US Representative Lauren Boebert.

In 2023, Carlson was suddenly fired from Fox News.

On April 24, the Fox News press service announced the dismissal of its most popular presenter. The company said FOX News Media and Carlson have decided to go their separate ways.

Fox News has not officially explained the host's dismissal, so there has been a lot of speculation in the media about this. Most popular versions become a lawsuit by a former colleague in which she accused Carlson of creating a hostile and discriminatory work environment, as well as a lawsuit by voting machine manufacturer Dominion Voting Systems, which accused the channel of libel. Carlson's insubordination problems, religious views that conflict with those of Fox Corporation founder Rupert Murdoch, and “divisive” coverage of the conflict in Ukraine were also cited as possible reasons for his dismissal.

Later became known, which Carlson himself considers the conflict between Fox News and Dominion Voting Systems to be the reason for his dismissal. According to the TV presenter, his removal from the air became a condition for a settlement agreement between the parties.

After leaving the channel, Carlson relaunched his show on the social network X (formerly Twitter). He named this platform is the only major platform where freedom of speech still exists. Later, the head of the social network, Elon Musk, said that the number of views of Carlson’s program in X is greater than the population of the United States.