Scarborough: Tucker Carlson doing ‘Putin’s bidding’ with upcoming interview

MSNBC host Joe Scarborough blasted conservative commentator Tucker Carlson over an interview with Russian President Vladimir Putin that Carlson said he plans to publish.

“The Republican Party now in the House is doing Vladimir Putin’s bidding, and somebody that we know, that we used to know, going over doing Vladimir Putin’s bidding, attacking Western journalists, saying if only Western journalists would have come over here and tried to even report fairly on the war,” Scarborough said on his morning show Wednesday in reference to Carlson. “There have been Western journalists that have gone over and tried to report fairly on the war and they’re in jail. They’re in Gulags right now.”

Carlson announced Tuesday on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, that he secured an interview with the Russian president. He accused Western media of “not bothering” to attempt an interview with Putin and showing blind support for Ukraine in its war effort.

Journalists including Christiane Amanpour, chief international anchor for CNN and host of three shows across CNN and PBS, met the comments with sharp rebuke and said she and other journalists will continue to ask for an interview with Putin, just like journalists have “for years now.”

Carlson’s sit-down with Putin would mark the first interview the Russian president has granted to a Western media member since his invasion of Ukraine.

“We are not encouraging you to agree with what Putin may say in this interview,” Carlson said as part of his announcement. “But we are urging you to watch it. You should know as much as you can. And then, like a free citizen and not a slave, you can decide for yourself.”

Scarborough said Putin “doesn’t want Western journalists going over and asking honest questions, fair questions.”

“He’ll let puppets talk to him, but nobody else,” he said.