Russian President Vladimir Putin mocked former Fox News host Tucker Carlson’s inability to join the CIA after college during their controversial interview that aired Thursday night.
The issue arose when Putin, without any resistance from Carlson, blamed the CIA for the 2014 Revolution of Dignity in Ukraine.
The movement began after the country’s then-friendly government was peacefully overthrown by mass protests following the rejection of a cooperation agreement with the European Union.
When Carlson asked who supported the overthrow, Putin replied: “With the support of the CIA, of course, the organization you wanted to join at the time, as I understand.” We have to thank God they didn’t let you in. Although it is a serious organization, I understand it.’
The Russian president then pointed to his own history as an intelligence officer.
Putin brought up Carlson’s ill-fated attempt to join the CIA when he accused the agency of being involved in the 2014 overthrow of Ukraine’s Russia-friendly government.
Carlson did not respond to Putin’s joke
a 2017 New Yorker film details Carlson’s attempts to join the CIA after struggling to graduate from the prestigious Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut.
The piece stated that the agency “prefers not to hire young men who are mischievous and disobedient.”
Meanwhile, a college friend told me Business insider in a similar feature in 2022 that Carlson’s rejection may have been because he was “too honest” in his application.
“He said he applied for a job and they turned him down because of his drug use. He was too honest in his application. I should probably also say that I don’t know if he was telling the truth or not,” the friend said.
Most of the interview, released Thursday, focused on Ukraine, where the war is approaching the two-year mark.
Putin reiterated his claim that his invasion of Ukraine, which Kiev and its allies described as an unprovoked act of aggression, was necessary to protect Ukraine’s Russian speakers and prevent the country from posing a threat to Russia by becoming a member of NATO.
Putin pointed to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s refusal to hold talks with the Kremlin.
He argued that it is up to Washington to stop supplying weapons to Ukraine and convince Kiev, which he called an American “satellite,” to negotiate.
“We have never refused negotiations,” Putin said. “You have to tell the current Ukrainian leaders to stop and come to the negotiating table.”
Putin warned that the West will never succeed in inflicting a “strategic defeat” on Russia in Ukraine and rejected accusations that Russia was harboring plans to attack Poland or other NATO countries.
It was Putin’s first interview with a Western media figure since his massive invasion of Ukraine two years ago.
White House national security spokesman John Kirby tried to minimize the impact of Carlson’s interview ahead of its release: “Remember, you’re listening to Vladimir Putin. And you shouldn’t just accept everything he has to say.’
Putin has sharply limited his contact with the international media since starting the war in Ukraine in February 2022.
Russian authorities have cracked down on independent media, forcing some Russian outlets to close, blocking others and ordering some foreign reporters to leave the country.
Two journalists working for American news organizations – Gershkovich of The Wall Street Journal and Alsu Kurmasheva of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty – are in prison.
The despot made the stunning accusations during the highly anticipated two-hour sit-down interview with former Fox News host Tucker Carlson
Vladimir Putin outrageously claimed last night that he was willing to sign a deal to end the war with Ukraine 18 months ago, but Boris Johnson trashed the deal
Asked by Carlson whether Russia would release Gershkovich, Putin said Moscow was open to talks but reiterated that the reporter was accused of espionage, a charge Gershkovich has denied.
“He was caught red-handed when he secretly received classified information,” Putin said of Gershkovich, adding that he did not rule out that the reporter could return home.
“There is no taboo on resolving this issue,” Putin said. “We are ready to solve it, but there are certain conditions that are discussed between special services. I believe an agreement can be reached.”
He pointed to a man imprisoned in an “American allied country” for “liquidating a bandit” who had killed Russian soldiers during the fighting in the Caucasus: “He put our captured soldiers on a road and then drove a car over their heads.
There was a patriot who murdered him in one of the European capitals.’
Putin did not mention any names, but he appeared to be referring to Vadim Krasikov, a Russian serving a life sentence in Germany after being convicted of the brazen 2019 daylight murder of Zelimkhan “Tornike” Khangoshvili, a 40-year-old Georgian citizen of Chechen ethnicity.
German judges who convicted Krasikov said he acted on orders from Russian federal authorities, who gave him a false identity, a false passport and the means to carry out the attack.
The Wall Street Journal reaffirmed in a statement that Gershkovich “is a journalist, and journalism is not a crime,” adding that “any representation to the contrary is total fiction.”
“We are encouraged to see Russia’s desire for a deal that brings Evan home, and we hope this will lead to his speedy release and return to his family and our newsroom,” the report said.