Chris Cuomo defends having Tucker Carlson on his show amid hysteria from leftist armchair critics: ‘This man has a bigger platform than any outlet’

Chris Cuomo, during his NewsNation series Cuomo, lambasted left-wing armchair critics who took offense to his interview with Tucker Carlson, saying they were “simply demonizing someone you disagree with.”

The former CNN host spoke with the ousted Fox News firebrand earlier this week, where he criticized Carlson for asking “softball questions” to Russian leader Vladimir Putin.

But amid outrage from woke viewers that Cuomo would even host Carlson, he defended the move as “that m.”and his crazy chatter is bigger than most major media outlets,” he said on his NewsNation show on Wednesday.

“He has an audience because millions think the same way.”

Tucker Carlson told Chris Cuomo he ‘can’t even guess’ who killed Alexei Navalny during a confrontational interview earlier this week, after Cuomo attacked Carlson for asking Vladimir Putin softball questions

Cuomo argued that those who opposed even talking to Carlson were short-sighted, and that it would be redundant to simply ignore influential people with whom you disagree.

“This is the same mistake many in the media made with Trump,” he said. “And when I talked to Trump early on, I got the same criticism.”

While he noted that interviewing Carlson could lead to “the spread of bad ideas,” he opined that those on the other side are even worse because they “would rather remain silent on what they disagree with.”

“And I think that’s what drives the division,” Cuomo continued.

“While there is disagreement, deep disagreement about who is to blame, what the solutions are, what really happened and who is right to get the job done, there are common concerns.

“And that’s all we need to get to a better place.”

Despite being the son and brother of two New York governors, Cuomo felt he received backlash for the interview because “the establishment hates it when we talk to each other.”

“The ugly truth is that too many people in the establishment would rather keep us divided,” he said. ‘So they don’t have to do what is difficult: solve the problems.’

“It has all enabled the divide-and-conquer mentality that undermines your interests for their own maintenance of power and market share.”

Cuomo and Carlson got into an argument about Russia and January 6 during their interview, which Cuomo defended as “what we need to get to a better place.”

While some took umbrage with Carlson’s platforming, others praised the open exchange of ideas between those who disagreed, with journalist Maria Shriver saying this is “one way we as a nation can find a path back to civility.” ‘

“I like that these guys did this,” said the journalist and ex-wife of Arnold Schwarzenegger. on X. “I know Chris Cuomo, I don’t know Tucker Carlson, but I learned something about both men that I didn’t know before. Well done to you both.”

There were some hostile moments between the pair during the interview, especially when they clashed over Carlson’s interview tactics with Putin.

Although Cuomo admitted that Carlson should not have gotten into a “shouting match” with the Russian president, Cuomo still felt the ex-Fox News host could have taken a tougher stance and asked about Navalny.

“(You) made choices,” he said. “You didn’t ask about Navalny. You said: kill all murderers, all leaders. But don’t you feel like if you sit down with someone like that, you have to hold him accountable for things that matter, the fact that he killed someone or a lot of people,” he said.

Carlson responded by saying he had taken Putin to task, but claimed that “Ukrainians say (Putin) didn’t kill Navalny.”

Cuomo responded, “Who killed him then? One minute the guy looks good, the next minute he’s dead.’

“In a broader sense, the Russian government, the Ukrainian government, said he died of natural causes,” Carlson argued.

“I can’t even guess what’s actually going on there.”

During his interview with Tucker Carlson, Putin provided a “historical background” on the conflict with Ukraine before defending his military’s action. Cuomo then blasted Carlson for asking “softball questions.”

Although Cuomo admitted that Carlson should not have gotten into “a shouting match” with the Russian president, Cuomo still felt the ex-Fox News host could have gone harder and asked about Navalny.

The pair also discussed Carlson’s reporting on the Jan. 6 insurrection.

“Your approach and other people’s approach, hey, this was just, you know, these guys were in the wrong place, the wrong direction, but that was it. I do not agree with that. I think it was a riot,” Cuomo said.

“And I think they went way over the line, and I think they were motivated to go over the line in part by the president of the United States.”

Carlson responded, “Parts of it were obviously a riot, but let me ask you a few questions. The first is: Why can’t we know how many federal agents were in the crowd and what they were doing there?’

‘It’s fine for me to know. I like transparency. It is the key to understanding,” Cuomo responded.

Cuomo then lobbied to “cherry-pick” the footage he played that day to make those accused of crimes in connection with the Capitol riot appear sympathetic.

“I broadcast what they sent me,” Carlson responded, prompting Cuomo to again claim he had made it “the icing on the cake.”