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Tucker Carlson’s trip to Russia came as a shock to many, except for the Russian propagandists who have been lobbying for the fulfillment of his long-standing wish to interview Russian President Vladimir Putin. In recent years, head of RT Margarita Simonyan pleaded with the Kremlin to make appropriate arrangements and state TV host Vladimir Solovyov offered Carlson a job on his channel, Solovyov Live. Like many Putin propagandists, Simonyan realized that Carlson’s softball sit-down with Putin would be even more of a propaganda boon than his pro-Russian, anti-Ukrainian and borderline anti-American rhetoric over the years.
While Solovyov had to settle for Scott Ritter, it seems like Simonyan may have finally got her wish. State media reported that Carlson’s minivan, full of TV equipment, had left his hotel and traveled to the presidential administration Monday evening. During the same timeframe, Putin’s motorcade reportedly traveled towards the Kremlin.
On Tuesday, Alexei Venediktov, former editor of Ekho Moskvy radio station, hinted in a post on X (formerly Twitter), “As I understand, Tucker Carlson got what he wanted.”