[ad_1]
On Tuesday, Tucker Carlson made a striking claim about Boris Johnson, the former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. According to Carlson, Johnson demanded a staggering $1 million for an interview.
This came to light during Carlson’s recount of events surrounding his attempt to secure an interview with the former UK Prime Minister. Carlson, who was in Moscow for a scheduled interview with Putin, conveyed his frustration over being publicly criticized by Johnson, who accused him of being a “tool of the Kremlin.”
In an effort to confront the accusations directly, Carlson sought an interview with Johnson, only to be met with a demand for $1 million in US dollars, gold, or Bitcoin. Carlson’s attempt to interview Johnson was motivated by a series of public denunciations from Johnson.
“So, he attacks me without explaining how I’m wrong, of course, or how he’s right,” Carlson explained. “This is, by the way, the guy who, single-handedly, at the request of the US government, stopped the peace deal in Ukraine a year and a half ago and is, I think, for that reason, responsible for the deaths of hundreds of thousands of people.”
WATCH:
Carlson contrasted Johnson’s demand with his recent interview with Vladimir Putin, noting that the Russian President did not ask for any payment, suggesting a stark difference in approach between the two political figures.
Further complicating the matter, Carlson accused Johnson of being involved in actions that contributed to the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, including allegations of halting a potential peace deal at the behest of the US government.
“Around the world, people are watching that ludicrous interview with Vladimir Putin conducted by Tucker Carlson, and we must not fall for this tissue of lies above all for the notion that Putin is somehow fated to succeed in Ukraine,” Johnson said of Carlson earlier in February. “On the contrary, he is doomed to failure.”
“He didn’t ask tough questions,” wrote Johnson. “He didn’t ask Putin why even now he is using the most brutal means of modern warfare to maim and murder innocent Ukrainian civilians.”
“Not since George Galloway went to Baghdad and hailed the indefatigability of Saddam Hussein have we seen such a display of bum-sucking servility to a tyrant.”
Russian President Vladimir Putin revealed his astonishment at the absence of incisive questions from Carlson during their interview, which attracted global attention. In a conversation with Pavel Zarubin, a journalist for Russian television, Putin disclosed his anticipation for a more confrontational approach from Carlson, which, he believed, would have warranted equally direct responses.
Putin shared, “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.” The remarks were made public in a broadcast.
During his initial dialogue with an American reporter since the onset of Russia’s military actions in Ukraine almost two years prior, Putin engaged Carlson in an extensive thirty-minute discourse on historical matters. Reflecting on the interview with Pavel Zarubin, Putin remarked on his astonishment regarding Carlson’s restraint from interjecting more frequently. “Frankly, I did not get full satisfaction from this interview.”
