Sunday, 24 Aug 2025
America Age
  • Trending
  • World
  • Politics
  • Opinion
  • Business
    • Economy
    • Real Estate
    • Money
    • Crypto & NFTs
  • Tech
  • Lifestyle
    • Lifestyle
    • Food
    • Travel
    • Fashion / Beauty
    • Art & Books
    • Culture
  • Health
  • Sports
  • Entertainment
Font ResizerAa
America AgeAmerica Age
Search
  • Trending
  • World
  • Politics
  • Opinion
  • Business
    • Economy
    • Real Estate
    • Money
    • Crypto & NFTs
  • Tech
  • Lifestyle
    • Lifestyle
    • Food
    • Travel
    • Fashion / Beauty
    • Art & Books
    • Culture
  • Health
  • Sports
  • Entertainment
Have an existing account? Sign In
Follow US
© 2024 America Age. All Rights Reserved.
America Age > Blog > World > Tucker Carlson leads rightwing charge to blame everyone but Putin
World

Tucker Carlson leads rightwing charge to blame everyone but Putin

Enspirers | Editorial Board
Share
Tucker Carlson leads rightwing charge to blame everyone but Putin
SHARE

As Russian troops encircled Ukraine, politicians and media pundits in the US were largely united in their condemnation of Vladimir Putin’s imminent attack.

Tucker Carlson, however, took a different approach. Hours before Putin ordered his forces into Ukraine, Fox News’ biggest star was still praising the Russian president.

Putin’s bellicose threats towards Ukraine and assembling of up to 190,000 troops on the country’s border, was, Carlson said, a mere “border dispute”. Carlson, who played into Kremlin talking points by declaring that Ukraine was “not a democracy”, launched an apparent attempt to humanize Putin.

“Has Putin ever called me a racist? Has he threatened to get me fired for disagreeing with him? Has he shipped every middle-class job in my town to Russia?” Carlson said as he then recited a rightwing tip sheet of pet causes.

Related: The strange Republican world where the big lie lives on and Trump is fighting to save democracy

“Did he manufacture a worldwide pandemic that wrecked my business and kept me indoors for two years? Is he teaching my children to embrace racial discrimination? Is he making fentanyl? Is he trying to snuff out Christianity?”

Just over 24 hours later, Putin effectively declared war on Ukraine.

Carlson was roundly condemned, but he wasn’t alone. Steve Bannon, Donald Trump’s sometime adviser turned podcast host, has praised Putin for being “anti-woke”, for not flying pride flags, and for his hostility to trans people.

Charlie Kirk, a rightwing media personality and the founder of Turning Points USA, suggested Putin felt emboldened by “energy policies that Joe Biden put forward”.

“Could it be that Greta Thunberg and Leonardo DiCaprio actually might be to blame for what Vladimir Putin is doing?” Kirk asked on his eponymous internet show.

“That’s a take you will not hear anywhere else,” he added.

By the end of the week Carlson’s colorful defense of Putin was being played on Russia 1 and the Kremlin-backed RT television network.

“As Russia prepared to invade Ukraine, the biggest star on Fox News was busy doing what he does best: being thoroughly and appallingly wrong,” Margaret Sullivan, a media columnist for the Washington Post, wrote.

By Thursday night, after Putin’s forces had begun bombing Ukraine, and after widespread US and global outrage at the carnage, Carlson had changed his tune.

“I don’t think anybody approves of what Putin did yesterday. I certainly don’t,” he said on his show.

Carlson added: “Vladimir Putin started this war.” He continued: “He is to blame tonight for what we’re seeing tonight in the Ukraine.”

But those expecting a mea culpa from Carlson, who has recently also become enamored with the authoritarian regime of Hungary’s prime minister, Viktor Orbán, were disappointed.

The overt praise for Putin may have receded, but Carlson and his Fox News co-hosts and pundits have continued to blame others for the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

“Well, I think we all know if Donald Trump were president, this would not have happened,” Lara Trump, Fox News contributor and daughter-in-law of the former president, told Fox and Friends on Thursday.

“We exuded strength on the world stage when Donald Trump was there. Now you see Joe Biden in office. And gosh, how many times have we all talked about how weak America has looked since the day that Joe Biden was inaugurated?”

Fox News Twitter feed on Friday essentially served as a tribute to the same viewpoint, lavishly quoting almost identical statements from Republican senators Lindsey Graham and Marsha Blackburn.

“Rather than blame the actual aggressor for attacking his weaker neighbor, right-wing media pinned the blame on Biden for supposedly projecting weakness and vulnerability to Putin,” Media Matters, a non-profit which monitors conservative media, wrote.

“In the right-wing media echo chamber […] the fault for this invasion lies with a mind-boggling variety of scapegoats, including Joe Biden, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, American environmentalists, the LGBTQ community, and even the team here at Media Matters for America – anybody, that is, other than Putin.”

The narrative has received some pushback from journalists at Fox News itself, particularly Jennifer Griffin, the network’s national security correspondent, who has spent weeks painstakingly correcting her opinion-host colleagues as Russia surrounded Ukraine.

On Thursday morning, the anchors on the morning show Fox and Friends were opining about how sanctions against Russia “have not worked”. Steve Doocy asked Griffin if “the people at the Pentagon” were frustrated given American troops were not involved.

“No, I wouldn’t say that, Steve. In fact they know that they had limited options going into this because Russia of course is a nuclear power, and Nato and the US are not go to war with Russia over Ukraine, their goal is to contain this and keep this from spilling over into an article 5 nation,” Griffin said.

“You talk about how the sanctions haven’t worked, I don’t know that we can say that yet. Overnight, the stock market in Russia fell by half, 50%.

“This is just the beginning of what is being described as a ‘shock and awe,’ if you will, of rolling sanctions that have not even begun to be felt yet by Putin, by his oligarchs, by the cronies there.”

The talk and tone among the hosts of Fox News and others in the right-wing media ecosystem is unlikely to change any time soon. But in some corners there are journalists willing to drag those hosts back to reality.

Share This Article
Twitter Email Copy Link Print
Previous Article Ukrainians show resilience, defiance amid Russia invasion: ‘Small nations have the right to be free’ Ukrainians show resilience, defiance amid Russia invasion: ‘Small nations have the right to be free’
Next Article Russian vodka pulled from shelves in US, Canada bars, liquor stores: ‘Every small thing makes a difference’ Russian vodka pulled from shelves in US, Canada bars, liquor stores: ‘Every small thing makes a difference’

Your Trusted Source for Accurate and Timely Updates!

Our commitment to accuracy, impartiality, and delivering breaking news as it happens has earned us the trust of a vast audience. Stay ahead with real-time updates on the latest events, trends.
FacebookLike
TwitterFollow
InstagramFollow
LinkedInFollow
MediumFollow
QuoraFollow
- Advertisement -
Ad image

Popular Posts

Draymond Inexperienced Is Not Trying Ahead To Dealing with 1 Staff Subsequent Season

(Picture by Elsa/Getty Photographs)   The New York Knicks simply bought considerably higher this offseason.…

By Enspirers | Editorial Board

The Bose QuietComfort earbuds are a good finances possibility from the premium model

Desk of Contents Desk of Contents Desk of Contents The sound and battery life are…

By Enspirers | Editorial Board

Nick Chubb Sends A Clear Message About His NFL Comeback

(Photograph by Nick Cammett/Getty Pictures)   The Cleveland Browns proved to be probably the most…

By Enspirers | Editorial Board

UPDATE 1-Lula, Putin talk on ‘strategic’ Brazil-Russia relations

(Adds Kremlin statement, details, context)SAO PAULO, Dec 20 (Reuters) - Brazilian President-elect Luiz Inacio Lula…

By Enspirers | Editorial Board

You Might Also Like

UN-backed specialists declare famine in and round Gaza Metropolis
World

UN-backed specialists declare famine in and round Gaza Metropolis

By Enspirers | Editorial Board
Putin needs to ‘wriggle out’ of assembly, Zelenskyy claims, and says Russia doesn’t need to finish conflict – Europe stay
World

Putin needs to ‘wriggle out’ of assembly, Zelenskyy claims, and says Russia doesn’t need to finish conflict – Europe stay

By Enspirers | Editorial Board
Australian medical doctors subjected to vexatious complaints over social media posts on Gaza, GP peak physique says
World

Australian medical doctors subjected to vexatious complaints over social media posts on Gaza, GP peak physique says

By Enspirers | Editorial Board
Information stay: Australia says Israel’s West Financial institution settlement plan is ‘unacceptable’ and calls for press entry to Gaza
World

Information stay: Australia says Israel’s West Financial institution settlement plan is ‘unacceptable’ and calls for press entry to Gaza

By Enspirers | Editorial Board
America Age
Facebook Twitter Youtube

About US


America Age: Your instant connection to breaking stories and live updates. Stay informed with our real-time coverage across politics, tech, entertainment, and more. Your reliable source for 24/7 news.

Company
  • About Us
  • Newsroom Policies & Standards
  • Diversity & Inclusion
  • Careers
  • Media & Community Relations
  • WP Creative Group
  • Accessibility Statement
Contact Us
  • Contact Us
  • Contact Customer Care
  • Advertise
  • Licensing & Syndication
  • Request a Correction
  • Contact the Newsroom
  • Send a News Tip
  • Report a Vulnerability
Terms of Use
  • Digital Products Terms of Sale
  • Terms of Service
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookie Settings
  • Submissions & Discussion Policy
  • RSS Terms of Service
  • Ad Choices
© 2024 America Age. All Rights Reserved.
Welcome Back!

Sign in to your account

Lost your password?