Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Tucker Carlson is a “useful idiot” for Russia on Wednesday in response to the former Fox News host’s exclusive interview with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Clinton claimed she was not surprised at the interview because Carlson already “parrots” Putin’s comments on Ukraine and that the Russian media mock the former host as a “puppy dog” for the foreign leader.
“He says things that are not true. He parrots Vladimir Putin’s pack of lies about Ukraine, so I don’t see why Putin wouldn’t give him an interview,” Clinton told MSNBC. “If you actually read translations of what is being said on Russian media, they make fun of him. … He’s like a puppy dog. I would not be surprised if he emerges with a contract with a Russian outlet because he is a useful idiot.”
Carlson, who separated from Fox last April, has been critical of the United States’s support for Ukraine since the Russian invasion in 2022, claiming U.S. cities are suffering as a result of Congress’s devotion to spending billions on aid for Ukraine.
Supporters of Ukraine are backing the smaller country, an ally of the U.S., to limit the spread of Russia’s influence and power in Europe.
The former Fox host defended the interview on Wednesday night, claiming people should tune in to it because many are not properly informed of the events unfolding between the two formerly Soviet countries.
“Two years into a war that’s reshaping the entire world, most Americans are not informed,” Carlson said in a video posted to X. “They have no real idea what’s happening in this region.”
Carlson added that he’s not encouraging viewers to “agree” with Putin but said they should be more aware of Russia’s side of the war, including why Putin has launched the invasion.
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The interview will take place in Russia and be shared on social media, though no release date has been announced. It will be the first interview given to U.S. media since the outbreak of the war.
Carlson is already in Russia, but it is not clear whether the interview has taken place yet.