The explosive news of Tucker Carlsonâs firing from Fox News came as a surprise to many, including some of his biggest fans: propagandists who are shilling for the Kremlin on Russian state TV.
During Mondayâs broadcast of The Evening With Vladimir Solovyov, state TV propagandists discussed the best ways for Russia to attack America on its own turf, citing internal divisions and conflicts as an opening that should be continually probed and exploited. This conversation naturally led to Russiaâs favorite U.S. TV host, Tucker Carlson, whose contribution to deepening divisions and undermining faith in American institutions has been of unparalleled value to the Kremlin.
Americanist Dmitry Drobnitsky gasped: âOur beloved Tucker Carlson has been fired, itâs a disgrace!â Host Vladimir Solovyov chimed in: âItâs a total outrage!â
Solovyov jumped in to claim there is something fishy about Carlson being fired one day before U.S. President Joe Biden was to announce his plan to run for re-election. Drobnitsky disagreed and speculated that there was another reason for the notorious hostâs firing by Fox News: âThe main issue is that he started to discuss, in harsh terms, all of the goals that the liberal establishment is pursuing abroad.â
Staring into the camera, Solovyov urged: âTucker, come work with us! Solovyov Live is waiting for you, Tucker!â Earlier the same day, RT and Solovyov Live offered Carlson a job, on Twitter and Telegram respectively.
During his evening show, Solovyov proclaimed: âFreedom to Tucker Carlson!â Drobnitsky noted that the American host is not in prison, but Solovyov worried out loud that this might be exactly whatâs coming next: âTheyâll throw him in prison, wait and see.â
Drobnitsky and Solovyov jointly pondered what Russia should do in response, proposing that Russia, China and Saudi Arabia impose sanctions against all persons responsible for Carlsonâs sudden dismissal. âThe rules-based world doesnât suit us, weâll be building our own world and calling on all rational players to join us,â Drobnitsky said.
On Tuesday morning, co-host of 60 Minutes Olga Skabeeva said she had some âsad newsâ to report: âFox News terminated their contract with one of the most prominent TV hosts in their history, our favorite, Tucker Carlson... He badmouthed Ukraine, calling it a corrupt black hole for American taxpayers and branding Zelensky a thief. Totally coincidentally, during the last several months, all of Americaâs mainstream media accused Tucker of disinformation, of working for Putin and for the Kremlin.â
She added, sarcastically, âIt seems like the patience of his higher-ups at Fox has run out and democracy prevailed, yet again.â
This love affair hasnât just begun. In recent years, clips of Tucker Carlsonâs shows have become an everyday occurrence on Russian state television. In 2020, Evgeny Popov, the host of Russiaâs state television program 60 Minutes, lovingly described Carlson as âpractically our co-host.â In 2022, co-host Olga Skabeeva said, âOur acquaintance, the host of Fox News Tucker Carlson, obviously has his own interestsâ âbut lately, more and more often, they're in tune with our own." This convergence of interests prompted RTâs editor-in-chief Margarita Simonyan to plead for âwonderfulâ Carlson to get his wish of interviewing Russian President Vladimir Putin.
After Russia invaded Ukraine, this coverage intensified, with some programs translating and broadcasting multiple highlights not only of Carlsonâs own monologues, but also the anti-Ukrainian commentary of his recurring guests. Tuckerâs stance was so explicit that it prompted Solovyov to say: "I wonder how long it will take before Tucker Carlson is put into prison as a Russian agent."
Russian state TV welcomed Carlsonâs accusations against the U.S. for allegedly blowing up the Nord Stream pipeline and embraced his suggestion that Moscow may opt to cut the undersea internet cables. Russian propagandists were also in total agreement with âcolleagueâ Carlson about the arrest of Jack Teixeira, portraying him as a heroic whistleblower.
Carlsonâs coverage of Russiaâs invasion of Ukraine is seen in such favorable light that in discussing various ways of killing scores of Americans, state media propagandist Dmitry Drobnitsky noted: âIn our country, we embraced one American we wouldnât want to kill: that would be Tucker Carlson.â
Seemingly convinced she already knows the reasons for Carlsonâs firing, head of RT Margarita Simonyan tweeted: âIâm not surprised that Tucker Carlson is leaving Fox, Iâm surprised that he managed to stay there for so long.â
During his morning show on Tuesday, Solovyov reiterated his job offer: âOur channel, Solovyov Live, has offered a job to Tucker Carlson. We sent him an official invitation. Something tells me he wonât answer right away. Still, it seems like the only place where he can work is not the United States, but Russia.â