Highly anticipated on both sides of the Atlantic, the interview between the sulphurous American journalist Tucker Carlson – close to Trump and former Fox News star – and Russian President Vladimir Putin sparked strong reactions. While the Russian media perceived the interview as a way of informing Westerners about the “truth” of the war, the American press for its part criticizes a staging, in the service of Kremlin propaganda.
The Russian and American press agree on this point: the interview with Vladimir Putin gave him an extraordinary sounding board. In fact, the first interview given by the head of the Kremlin to a foreign journalist in three years was viewed more than fifty million times. For the American television channel CNN, the Russian president comes out with “a propaganda victory”. Faced with non-existent adversity, the Russian autocrat had “free rein to manipulate the public and tell his side of the story,” notes CNN. Vladimir Putin seemed to be “giving a history lesson,” notes Clarissa Ward, a speaker on the channel. “It was President Putin’s platform,” she further emphasizes.
The Washington Post also mentions the start of the interview devoted to a vast historic return by the Russian president. The American newspaper describes the imposed twenty-three minute tunnel as a “revisionist tirade” and “founding myths”.
A “history lesson” that the Russian press perceives as necessary for Westerners who lack knowledge of the reality on the Russian border.
To support this thesis, the Russian press takes as an example the declarations of former senior American officials. The Russian news agency Ria Novosti highlights a statement from Scott Ritter, former intelligence officer of the American armed forces. According to him, this interview would be “the best thing that could happen to American society at the moment” to “learn the truth about the conflict between Russia and Ukraine,” he said. Ria Novosti praises the “civic courage” of Tucker Carlson which allows the Western public to “understand the real reasons for what is happening in Ukraine”.
The Russian news agency also praises “the merit” of Putin in informing the Americans of the mistakes of their leaders. The war in Ukraine would be the consequence. Alexeï Chepa, vice-chairman of the Duma Foreign Affairs Committee, believes that if millions of people watched the interview, it is because people were waiting to “finally have the truth”. He believes that it has been censored for too long by American propaganda, which he recognizes as “difficult to defeat”.
On both the Russian and American sides, the press also seems unanimous on the difficulties experienced by the journalist who supports Donald Trump’s campaign. His posture, often taken aback and devoid of retort in front of the head of the Kremlin, seems to have damaged his credibility. The Washington Post headlines “Putin, in rambling interview, barely lets Tucker Carlson speak.” The American weekly describes a Putin who “exhausted” and “pontificated” his interlocutor.
“Carlson, visibly exhausted by the conspiracy theories and the Russian leader’s endless grievances against the West, thanked him and resigned,” we can still read in the Washington Post. The former Fox News star seems to have left those who were impatiently waiting for the interview wanting more. “He fell well short of the media stunt that he had praised,” said the correspondent for the American daily, Francesca Ebel. Admitting Vladimir Putin’s domination of the interview, Carlson said he was surprised by the Russian president’s long, historic comeback.
While the American press emphasizes Carlson’s lack of control, the Russian press, led by Ria Novosti, saw in Vladimir Putin’s attitude a “demonstration of superiority over the American establishment”. This Thursday, February 9, the Russian newspaper Izvestia headlined one of its articles on the German weekly Zeit, which would underline “Putin’s invincibility”. However, there is no alleged trace of these praises that the German weekly would have given to Vladimir Putin.
Izvestia also praises the mastery of the Russian president who would convey a position of “dominant” interlocutor, who knows his subjects and is sure of his initiatives. Finally, the American magazine RollingStone summarizes the interview as follows: “Putin used Tucker Carlson to wipe the floor of the Kremlin.”
