BREAKING: Tucker Carlson's interview with Putin drops on TCN

Tucker Carlson's anticipated interview with Russian President Vladimir Putin dropped on TCN, to be followed shortly after by a post on X. Carlson was in Russia to interview Putin and faced criticism for holding the interview at all.

Americans Paul Nicholas Whelan and Wall Street Journal journalist Evan ‎Gershkovich are both being imprisoned in Russia currently. Biden has tried to secure the release of Whelan, and Gershkovich's detention continues to be extended.

Carlson allowed Putin to make the case for his invasion of Ukraine, for which Putin gave his historical justification. Carlson said he was "losing track of where in history," and Putin elaborated. Putin went back to the 13th century. Carlson pointed out that Putin was making the case that Ukraine was historically part of Russia, and asked why he didn't just take it when he "became president 24 years ago?" 

Putin stuck to his historical diatribe. 

Carlson asked Putin questions, and Putin gave lengthy answers. Carlson let him speak.

“Why didn’t you make this case for the first 22 years as president that Ukraine wasn’t a real country?” Carlson asked.

“The Soviet Union was given a great deal of territory that had never belonged to it, including the Black Sea
region," Putin said.

“Do you believe Hungary has a right to take its land back from Ukraine?” Carlson asked. "And that other nations have a right to go back to their 1654 borders?" Putin criticized Joseph Stalin's abuses of human rights, and that perhaps nations could reclaim their land to the pre-Stalin time.

“One may say that they could claim back those lands of theirs," Putin said.

Putin criticized NATO's reach into Eastern Europe, specifically Ukraine. He spoke about the "family ties" between Russian and Ukrainian citizens. Carlson asked Putin if he would have joined NATO. Putin said he asked, and was told "no."

He said that one of Russia's goals in invading Ukraine was "denazification" of that region. He said that "The promise was that NATO would not expand eastward," but that it happened "five times."

Carlson asked what he meant by "denazification." Putin said that this was essentially Ukraine's "identity," that the nation built their identity "on some false heroes who collaborated with Hitler."

To that end, Putin brought up the Canadian Parliament's having honored a Nazi, Mr. Hunka, who had fought in Ukraine against the Allies in World War II. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, along with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and the entire Parliament, stood and gave the man a standing ovation.

Putin justified his conquest of Ukraine by saying Nazism was present in the nation and cannot be permitted. When asked about peace talks, he said Ukraine essentially cast their lot in with NATO, thereby tossing aside peace with Russia.

Carlson was shocked to find that Putin had no memory of the last time he spoke with Biden, "who is funding the war" in Ukraine. He was also surprised to find that Putin had no interest in "working things out" with Biden.

"If you really want to stop fighting, you need to stop supplying weapons. It will be over within a few weeks, that's it, and we can agree upon some terms," Putin said his message for Biden would be. Putin emphasized that there was nothing to talk to Biden about, and that he does not fear the US.

When asked if he could "imagine a scenario" where Russia would send troops into Poland, Putin said that would only be if Poland attacked Russia. He claimed that he does not have "territorial aims across the continent," and does not want to get involved in "a global war that would bring humanity to the brink of destruction."

Carlson asked Putin who blew up the Nordstream pipeline, saying that Putin likely had evidence that the US and the west blew it up if that's in fact what happened. Putin blamed the United States for having a propaganda machine that made it "cost prohibitive."

Putin also criticized American monetary policy.

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