Chris Cuomo Slams Attention-Hungry Tucker Carlson Over Vladimir Putin Interview

Chris Cuomo didn't mince words when discussing what he thought about conservative commentator Tucker Carlson's upcoming interview with Vladimir Putin.

On Tuesday, February 6, Cuomo speculated that the ousted Fox News host's sit-down with the Russian president is a publicity stunt.

"Tucker Carlson is getting exactly what he wants: attention," he said. "He’s in Russia, interviewing Vladimir Putin. Now, frankly, I don’t care, his explanation of why he’s doing it — that he’s a journalist and he needs to inform people. He can call himself whatever he wants."

"I think his work is demonstrable as not being just about giving people information, he has a point of view," Cuomo continued. "And often it’s not aligned with the facts."

As OK! previously reported, Carlson announced the interview on Tuesday, February 6, on his social media accounts.

"There are risks to conducting an interview like this, obviously, so we thought about it carefully over many months," he said at the time. "Since the day the war in Ukraine began, American media outlets have spoken to scores of people from Ukraine, and they have done scores of interviews with Ukrainian president Zelensky."

"We ourselves have put in a request for an interview with Zelensky," he added. "We hope he accepts, but the interviews he’s already done in the United States are not traditional interviews, they are fawning pep sessions."

"Not a single Western journalist has bothered to interview the president of the other country involved in this conflict: Vladimir Putin," he added. "Most Americans have no idea why Putin invaded Ukraine or what his goals are now — you’ve never heard his voice."

"That’s wrong," he said. "Americans have a right to know all they can about a war they’re implicated in and we have the right to tell them about it."

Carlson swiftly faced backlash from several public figures for his controversial decision. Late-night television host Jimmy Kimmel mocked him for thinking Americans needed to hear the point of view of a "war criminal" who "hates America" and "everything America stands for."

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Meanwhile, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton slammed Carlson as little more than a "useful idiot."

"I mean, if you actually read translations of what’s being said on Russian media, they make fun of him," she explained in a recent interview. "I mean, he’s like a puppy dog. You know, somehow, after having been fired from so many outlets and the United States. I would not be surprised if he emerges with a contract with a Russian outlet because he is a useful idiot."