A stooge, an obedient puppy, a fake journalist and an agent of the Kremlin.
These are just some of the terms used to describe former Fox News host Tucker Carlson after it was announced that he would be interviewing Russian President Vladimir Putin. After Carlson was seen in Moscow last week, it was widely speculated that the two would be meeting for a sit-down interview, and on Feb. 6, Carlson confirmed suspicions with a video published to his account on X, formally known as Twitter.
“Our duty is to inform people,” Carlson said. “Two years into a war that’s reshaping the entire world, most Americans are not informed. They have no idea what is happening in this region.”
And he is right.
Upon posting his interview with the Russian president, he was met with endless criticism. The former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Boris Johnson, who stepped down in July of 2022 after his government became plagued by scandals, labeled Carlson a “traitor to journalism.” Hillary Clinton, the former secretary of state and twice-failed presidential candidate labeled Carlson a “puppy dog,” and even went as far as suggesting that he might land a contract with Russian state media as a result of the interview.
However, Carlson was anything but a traitor to journalism, or whatever else his critics decide to label him as. While there was plenty of outrage directed at Carlson for speaking with the leader of one of the largest countries in the world, this outrage is misplaced. Those frustrated with Carlson should instead redirect their outrage to political leaders for allowing the war to get to this stage.
As Carlson accurately stated in his initial announcement video promoting the interview, the world has been hearing only one side of this war since its inception in 2022. Since the beginning of the war, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has had a seemingly infinite number of media appearances in the United States, in addition to his countless conversations with President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris.
The media’s criticism of Carlson for simply interviewing the Russian president tells Americans all they need to know about the ongoing war in Ukraine: If you question the official narrative, you are the enemy.
For far too long, the U.S. has based its foreign policy around the idea that the enemy of the enemy must be a friend, but with Ukraine, it is important to understand that this idea is dangerous for the interests of the U.S.
Since the war, Ukraine has banned Christian orthodoxy as well as opposing political parties. It has consolidated all media into censored state media, banned elections and forced any male over 18 into forced conscription while preventing them from leaving the country.
The U.S. should not support Russia’s invasion of a sovereign country, but this does not mean that the U.S. should support Ukraine either. These policies go against everything that the U.S. stands for, however, Ukraine has been treated better than some states in our own country with respect to aid from the federal government. Every single journalist in America should be praising Tucker Carlson for giving Putin the opportunity to share his side of the story.
While it is important to note that the credibility of Putin’s messaging should undoubtedly be called into question, everybody should be given the right to speak, and everybody should listen to what he has to say. The war in Ukraine is one of the most catastrophic human events in the last ten years. If the goal of the West is to achieve peace and end the war, then it is important to ensure that the world is able to hear both sides of the conflict to ensure that peace talks can be appropriately facilitated.
Instead of fueling the war machine by continuing to pour money and resources into the Zelenskyy regime’s pockets, the U.S. should advocate for peace talks. In his interview with Carlson, Putin claimed that Biden had not spoken with him since before the war in Ukraine started. If this claim is true, it is sickening to say the least. The American people are tired of fighting other countries’ border wars when we have our own problems at home.
Both Russia and Ukraine must be willing to come to the table to negotiate peace terms, and without conversation, this will not be possible. Our leaders should learn from Carlson, and at least attempt to speak with the Russian President so the war in Ukraine can be stopped once and for all.
