What did Vladimir Putin say about Tucker Carlson? Russian President trolls conservative political commentator

Vladimir Putin, the President of Russia, had a viral interview with American journalist and political commentator Tucker Carlson on February 8, 2024. Days after the 2-hour sit-down, the politician trolled the latter's lack of tough questions.

Carlson is known for his anti-Ukraine stance across the media, as per The Guardian. During the interview, Putin was seen lecturing the conservative host on his distorted views of Russian and Ukrainian history. On Wednesday, February 15, Vladimir said in a comments broadcast that:

"To be honest, I thought that he would behave aggressively and ask so-called sharp questions. I was not just prepared for this, I wanted it, because it would give me the opportunity to respond in the same way. Frankly, I did not get full satisfaction from this interview."

The former intelligence officer also said that he would prefer a Joe Biden presidency to a Donald Trump one, as per Newsweek.

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Vladimir Putin trolls Tucker Carlson over lack of tough questions during their interview

"The Vladimir Putin Interview" was a television discussion that aired on February 8 and included the Russian President and American journalist Tucker Carlson. In the two-hour talk, the pair covered history, politics, and war.

However, on Wednesday, February 14, Vladimir Putin made it clear that he was unimpressed with the interviewer’s softball questions during their sitdown in Moscow. He claimed in a media meeting in his homeland that he was waiting for an aggressive exchange with Tucker, as per The New York Post.

Putin also agreed with critics who mocked Carlson for allowing the politician to lecture him on the history of Russia and Ukraine rather than challenging him. Many critics also pointed out that it was a missed opportunity because it was Vladimir Putin's first interview with a US journalist in the two years since he declared war on Ukraine.

The Russian President spoke with pro-Kremlin Russian TV interviewer Pavel Zarubin. The host was surprised that Tucker Carlson had made only a few attempts to interject. Putin said:

“Surprisingly for a Western journalist, he turned out to be patient, listened to my lengthy [monologues], especially those related to history. He did not give me a reason to do what I had been prepared to do."

Vladimir Putin added that Tucker had an alleged “plan” going into the interview and carried it through. However, he added, "But to what degree it was meaningful at the end of the day, I cannot say," as per The Guardian.

The politician's last interview with Western media was in 2021 when he spoke with a reporter for CNBC. He had essentially ceased speaking to independent media, both Russian and international, since his full-scale invasion of Ukraine. He has only spoken with Russian, Kazakh, and Chinese media in the last two years, as per The Independent.

Vladimir Putin also talked about the 2024 US elections with the Russian state journalist on Wednesday, as per The Guardian. When asked about Donald Trump and Joe Biden, he said without hesitation that the current US president was “more experienced, predictable, and an old-school politician.” However, he went on to say:

“We will work with any US president who the American people have confidence in.”

The 2024 United States presidential election is scheduled for Tuesday, November 5, 2024.