Chris Wallace criticized Tucker Carlson on Saturday for his interview with Russian President Vladimir Putin, calling his former Fox News colleague "an eager puppy."
"Tucker Carlson showed up in Moscow to interview Vladimir Putin. It turned out to be anything but an interview," Wallace said on his CNN show, The Chris Wallace Show. "Putin droned on for two hours and seven minutes, while Tucker sat there like an eager puppy."
The Context:
On Thursday evening, Carlson, who was ousted from Fox News in April 2023, aired an interview he conducted with Putin in Moscow. This was the first time the Russian leader was interviewed by Western media since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
What We Know:
Wallace, who joined CNN in 2022 after 18 years at Fox News, remarked on Carlson's Moscow interview during his show on Saturday, "Occasionally, but rarely, he got in a question."
"But more telling than what Tucker asked, is what he didn't ask. Nothing about why Putin invaded a sovereign country. Nothing about targeting civilians. Nothing about Russian war crimes," Wallace said. "A reporter can ask Putin a tough question if he wants a real interview."
The CNN show then cut to a clip of Wallace interviewing Putin for Fox News in 2018.
"Why is it that so many of the people that oppose Vladimir Putin end up dead or close to it?" Wallace asked Putin at the time.
The show then cuts back to Wallace: "But apparently that's not why Tucker went to Moscow.
"During the Cold War, gullible Westerners who spread Soviet propaganda were dismissed as useful idiots. But calling Tucker that is unfair, to useful idiots. No, he's made a cynical decision to chase MAGA's affection for dictators and what better way to cash in than Putin's Kremlin."
Newsweek reached out to Carlson's website via email for comment.
Views:
Wallace is trending on X, formerly Twitter, as a clip from Saturday's show circulates online.
Brian Krassenstein, a social media personality who gained popularity by responding to former President Donald Trump's posts when he was still on the social media platform, said of the clip in an X post, "I agree that Tucker could have certainly pushed back a lot more and also asked much tougher questions. It was an opportunity that many journalists would have loved."
Meanwhile, former U.S. Army Lieutenant General Mike Flynn, who served as Trump's national security adviser, called Carlson's interview with Putin "amazing and historic" in an X post on Thursday night.
What's Next?
The two-year anniversary of Russia launching its full-scale war against Ukraine is coming up on February 24, 2024. As both countries continue to fight in the harsh winter landscape, U.S. support for Ukraine is dwindling.
Republicans in Congress have pushed against additional funding for Ukraine as the Senate moves along with an aid package that will not only give $61 billion to Ukraine, but support other U.S. foreign interests.
Updated 2/10/24, 1:30 p.m. ET: This article has been updated with additional information.
Updated 2/10/24, 1:49 p.m. ET: This article has been updated with additional information.
Uncommon Knowledge
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
Rachel Dobkin is a Newsweek reporter based in New York. Her focus is reporting on politics. Rachel joined Newsweek in ... Read more
