Useful Idiot?

A couple of weeks ago Russian President Vladimir Putin sat down with Tucker Carlson for an interview.  I finally got around to watching it myself.

Having been critical over the years of those who are cozy with the former KGB Colonel I was curious as to what Carlson was going to say and what the interview might reveal.  Heretofore, Carlson has been largely critical of any aid or support for Ukraine's defense.  In November of 2019 he said he was rooting for Russia.  Since Putin launched his war on Ukraine almost two years ago Carlson has been supportive of Putin and claimed (without any evidence) that financial support for Ukraine went to Ukrainian President Zelensky and his wife.  Let me be clear, Carlson is not a journalist; he's a commentator.  I wanted to watch the interview in its entirety and form an opinion afterward.

Key takeaways include the following:

In a rambling forty minute homily Putin justified his invasion of Ukraine arguing that Russia has a historic claim to much of western Ukraine reaching back to the 13th century.  And that Ukrainian territory bordering the Black Sea has no historical connection to Ukraine whatsoever.

Furthermore, Putin claimed that it was Ukraine, following Russia's annexation of Crimea, that instigated the war in 2014.  He denied any responsibility for provoking hostilities.

Carlson did push back on Putin's revisionist history lecture including Russia's role in WWII and the formation of the Soviet Union asking what history had to do with what happened a couple of years ago.

Putin also complained about the eastern expansion of NATO and that Russia had to push back against this expansion; again. leading up to the war in Ukraine.

Finally, Putin played the Nazi card claiming that one of Russia's goals is the de-Nazification of and prohibition of Neo-Nazi movements in Ukraine.

Carlson asked Putin if he has evidence supporting the claim that the CIA was responsible for the destruction of the Nord Stream natural gas pipeline in the Baltic Sea.  Putin offered no tangible evidence but claimed that Russia should look for someone who's interested and has capabilities.

Asked if Putin would be willing to release Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, Putin told Carlson a prisoner exchange would probably lead to his release and is essentially controlled by the US authorities.

So, was this a propaganda win for Putin?  A blockbuster interview for Carlson?  My sense is that Putin saw this interview as an opportunity to telegraph to the US that there is no further point to assisting Ukraine with more weaponry and financial support as the war will continue regardless.  Putin is in for the long term and is willing to wait, at least until after the 2024 election, with the hope that Donald Trump is returned to the White House.  I think Putin believes Trump and a far right congress will be more pliable and sympathetic to Moscow's narratives.  He views Americans as fundamentally weak.

And speaking of elections, Mr. Putin has a presidential election next month.  The outcome of which cannot be in any doubt.  That said, he has to play to his Russian audience as a leader with a global platform.  State-controlled media outlets breathlessly hyped Carlson's visit as if it were that of a head of state.

On balance I call this a win for Putin and given the state-sponsored lecture from one of the world's great villains; a disappointment for Carlson.  The interview was lame; it was one-sided and anticlimactic. 

I've never understood the far right's fatuous admiration and embrace of Putin.  Of course, I don't understand the far left's pro-Hamas love affair either.  I guess the fringe has a high tolerance for stone-cold killers and war criminals.  Which would explain why they're the fringe.

So, is Tucker Carlson a useful idiot?  Consider the history of this term.  It originally applied to Western intellectuals who naively supported the Bolsheviks and Soviets by ignoring the universal truths of a brutal dictatorship.  Stalin despised such people yet considered them helpful in advancing his message.  Yesterday the death of Russian dissident Alexei Navalny was confirmed.  Until then I would have characterized Mr. Carlson as a garden variety Putin shill.  Today he has been promoted to useful idiot. 

Perform your own due diligence and watch the interview in its entirety here.  My readers are smart enough to draw their own conclusions.....