(Headline USA) Failed presidential candidate Hillary Clinton claimed this week that Tucker Carlson is a “useful idiot” for traveling to Moscow to interview Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The former Fox News host revealed this week that he was granted a sit-down with Putin – his first interview with an American journalist since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. It will be broadcast on Carlson’s website on Thursday.
When asked by MSNBC’s Alex Wagner what she thought of the interview, Clinton said she wouldn’t expect too much from it.
Hillary Clinton on Tucker Carlson: “He's like a puppy dog — He's been fired from so many outlets here in the U.S. that I wouldn't be surprised if he emerges with a contract from a Russian outlet.”
— Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) February 8, 2024
“He’s what’s called a useful idiot,” she claimed. “I mean, if you actually read translations of what’s being said on Russian media, they make fun of him. I mean, he’s like a puppy dog.”
But it’s not surprising that Putin would want to sit down with Carlson, she added.
“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,” she claimed.
Clinton went on to jab at Carlson’s ouster from Fox News, suggesting he might be able to land another contract with a Russian network after the interview airs.
“You know, he somehow – after having been fired from so many outlets in the United States – I would not be surprised if he emerges with a contract with a Russian outlet because he is a useful idiot,” Clinton said.
Carlson has been critical of the U.S.’s endless financial support for Ukraine and of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
In a statement on Tuesday, the Kremlin confirmed it had accepted Carlson’s interview request because he has tried to remain balanced about the Ukrainian-Russian conflict.
“His position is different from the others. It is in no way pro-Russian, it is not pro-Ukrainian – it is pro-American, but at least it contrasts with the position of the traditional Anglo-Saxon media,” said Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov.
The rest of American media, on the other hand, “can in no way boast of even trying to at least look impartial in terms of coverage,” he continued. “These are all media outlets that take an exceptionally one-sided position. Of course there is no desire to communicate with such media, and it hardly makes sense, and it is unlikely that it will be useful.”
