Senator Mitch McConnell, the Republican leader in the Senate, on Tuesday strongly criticized conservative commentator Tucker Carlson for his leading role in undermining support for military aid to Ukraine. McConnell suggested that Carlson’s interview with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Fox News earlier this year gave Putin a platform to spread disinformation and convinced many Republicans that providing assistance to Ukraine was a mistake.
McConnell said, ‘I believe the demonization of Ukraine began with Tucker Carlson, who in my opinion ended up where he should have been all along, which was interviewing Vladimir Putin.’ He was referring to Carlson’s two-hour interview with Putin in February, which drew widespread criticism for not challenging Putin’s dubious claims and statements.
McConnell continued, ‘He persuaded many rank-and-file Republicans that maybe this was a blunder.’ During the interview, Putin dominated the conversation, giving Carlson little opportunity to ask questions as he discussed Russian history, the breakup of the Soviet Union, and the threat of Soviet expansion. Later, the Russian president criticized the experience, saying he ‘didn’t get complete satisfaction’ from the interview because he didn’t receive any tough questions. Putin stated afterward, ‘To be honest, I assumed he would act aggressively and pose so-called tough questions. I was not only prepared for this, I welcomed it, because it would give me the chance to respond in the same manner.’
In February, former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson criticized the interview as ‘ridiculous.’ Johnson stated in a video posted by the Daily Mail at the time, ‘We must not be fooled by this web of lies, especially the idea that Putin is somehow destined to win in Ukraine.’ Earlier this year, Carlson defended the interview. During an appearance on Glenn Beck’s BlazeTV+ program in February, he stated, ‘And let me just say up front that I have been accused of being pro-Putin, and I am not.’ ‘And if I were, that’s fine too. I’m a grown man, an American citizen, I can like or dislike anyone I want. I can have whatever opinions I want.’
Carlson has been a vocal opponent of U.S. involvement in the war since before leaving Fox News and appears to have significantly impacted Republican views on the conflict, something McConnell acknowledged on Tuesday. A year ago, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis (R) informed Carlson that the war was not a vital national concern. DeSantis stated in a statement provided to ‘Tucker Carlson Tonight’ more than a year ago, ‘While the U.S. has numerous vital national interests…becoming further entangled in a territorial dispute between Ukraine and Russia is not one of them.’ DeSantis faced harsh criticism and subsequently retracted the statement.
Other prominent Republicans have expressed concern about the penetration of what they perceive as Russian ‘propaganda’ in conservative media and among their party’s base. House Intelligence Committee Chairman Mike Turner (R-Ohio) stated earlier this month on CNN’s ‘State of the Union,’ ‘We see communications coming directly from Russia… that are anti-Ukraine and pro-Russia messages, some of which we even hear being uttered on the House floor.’ Even before Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, Carlson labeled Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who was democratically elected, a ‘dictator’ and questioned why the United States wasn’t supporting Russia in the conflict.
