Tucker Carlson on His Putin Interview, Navalny's Death, US Foreign Policy, and Media Deception

This episode features Lex Fridman's conversation with Tucker Carlson, focusing primarily on Carlson's recent interview with Russian President Vladimir Putin and broader geopolitical issues. Carlson shares his initial impressions of Putin, describing him as nervous and over-prepared, and recounts Putin's lengthy historical account which Carlson initially perceived as filibustering but later found significant. Fridman addresses the criticism he received for interviewing Carlson and defends his long-form interview style, emphasizing the goal of understanding ideas rather than creating drama or grilling guests.\n\nThe discussion delves into the motivations behind Carlson's interview with Putin, which he states was to bring more information to the Western public and challenge what he perceives as widespread lies from US media and government regarding the Russia-Ukraine war. Carlson highlights the disparity in military capacity and industrial output between Russia and NATO, citing Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban's perspective on Ukraine's inability to win. He criticizes the US administration's role in allegedly preventing a peace deal a year and a half prior, leading to more deaths and Western profit, which he labels a \"moral crime.\"\n\nCarlson also addresses the death of Alexei Navalny, expressing sadness but cautioning against definitive conclusions about the cause, criticizing American politicians for making claims without verifiable facts. He condemns the imprisonment of opposition figures globally, including in Russia, but notes the absence of a cult of personality propaganda in Moscow, which surprised him. A significant point of contention is Carlson's lawyers' warning that he could face arrest by the US government for sanction violations or for being "too nice" to Putin, which Carlson vehemently rejected as indicative of a "fascist country."\n\nThroughout the conversation, Carlson emphasizes his American perspective, his interest in truth, and his belief that the world is resetting to the disadvantage of the United States, partly due to the accelerated de-dollarization caused by US sanctions. He underscores the importance of citizens having access to diverse information to make informed decisions, rejecting the notion that Americans should "shut up and obey" regarding foreign policy. The episode ultimately explores themes of media integrity, political freedom, the complexities of international conflict, and the challenges of seeking truth in a highly polarized information environment.

He said very specifically, "Depending on the questions you ask Putin, you could be arrested or not." And I said, "Listen to what you're saying. You're saying the US government has like control over my questions and they'll arrest me if I ask the wrong question. Like, how are we better than Putin if that's true?"

Killing Navalny during the Munich Security Conference in the middle of a debate over $60 billion in Ukraine funding, maybe the Russians are dumb. I didn't get that vibe at all.

I don't think we kill people in other countries to affect election outcomes. Oh wait, no, we do it a lot, and have for 80 years.

I will talk to everyone as long as they're willing to talk genuinely in long form. for two, three, four or more hours.

I want to understand people and ideas. That's what long form conversations are supposed to be all about.

I thought he seemed nervous and I was very surprised by that. And I thought he seemed like someone who'd overthought it a little bit, who had a plan.

My only interest is in America. I'm not leaving ever. And so I'm looking at this purely from our perspective, what's good for us.

Russia has a hundred million more people than Ukraine. A hundred million. It has much deeper industrial capacity, war material capacity than all of NATO combined.

The US dollars going away. That was of course, inevitable ultimately because everything dies, including currencies. But that death, that process of death has been accelerated exponentially by the behavior of the Biden administration and the US Congress, particularly the sanctions.

You're describing a fascist country, okay? You're saying that the US government will arrest me if I don't ask the questions they want asked is that's what you're saying?