Tucker Carlson defended on Monday his decision not to question Russian President Vladimir Putin about allegations that the Kremlin has ordered assassinations of political dissidents.
“Every leader kills people. Some kill more than others,” the former Fox News host said.
His comments came during a discussion at the World Government Summit in Dubai that touched upon his interview last week with the Russian leader. The interview, taped on February 6 and aired two nights later, has made international headlines for numerous statements made by Putin, including his supposed rationale for invading Ukraine.
During the Dubai summit, Egyptian journalist Emad el-Din Adeeb asked Carlson why he didn’t ask Putin about jailed Russian opposition figure Alexei Navalny, alleged political assassinations or restrictions in Russia’s upcoming presidential election.
“I didn’t talk about the things that every other American media outlet talks about,” Carlson said.
Tucker Carlson and Vladimir Putin are seen during the Russian president’s interview at the Kremlin on February 6. On Monday, Carlson defended his decision not to question Putin about alleged civil rights abuses and political…
Photos by GAVRIIL GRIGOROV/POOL/AFP/Getty Images
After Adeeb pressed him further, Carlson added: “Because those are covered and because I have spent my life talking to people who run countries in various countries and have concluded the following: that every leader kills people, including my leader.
“Every leader kills people. Some kill more than others. Leadership requires killing people. Sorry, that’s why I wouldn’t want to be a leader,” he said.
Newsweek reached out to the Kremlin and a representative for Carlson via email on Monday for comment.
Carlson then addressed what he called “press restriction” in the American media. In April 2023, he was ousted from Fox News, where he had been one of the network’s top stars.
“That press restriction is universal in the United States,” he said. “I know because I’ve lived it. Ask my former—I’ve had a lot of jobs. And I’ve done this for 34 years, and I know how it works, and there’s more censorship in Russia than there is in the United States, but there is a great deal in the United States.”
Elsewhere during the Dubai summit discussion, Carlson said he believes Putin could be willing to discuss a potential deal that would end the war in Ukraine.
After Adeeb asked Carlson if he feels Putin is willing to compromise to end the war, the American answered: “Of course. Leaders of any country on this planet, other than maybe the United States during the unipolar period, are forced by the nature of their jobs to compromise. That’s what diplomacy is. And he [Putin] is among those [leaders willing to compromise].”
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