Tucker Carlson slammed for ‘disgusting’ Navalny remarks just days before death

Former Fox News host Tucker Carlson, who was already facing criticism over his interview with Vladimir Putin, has now been condemned for comments made about Alexei Navalny at the World Governments Summit in Dubai on Tuesday (13 February), days before it was claimed the Putin critic had died in prison after ‘feeling unwell’.

Carlson’s interview with the Russian president went live last week and saw Putin make a number of bizarre claims (including that the US “controls all of the world’s media”, that Boris Johnson talked the country out of a settlement with Ukraine, and suggesting that Poland was to blame for the Second World War) without much scrutiny or challenge from the broadcaster.

The conversation also reignited speculation over Putin’s health, as the dictator was seen touching his knee and pressing his leg down after his left foot rose upwards randomly.

Carlson was condemned both before and after the interview, with Hillary Clinton branding him a “useful idiot”, and former Brexit co-ordinator Guy Verhofstadt saying the interview was “the best thing that ever happened to Putin”.

Even Putin himself was brutal in his assessment of how the interview went, telling a Russian broadcaster – according to a Reuters translation – that he thought he would “behave aggressively and ask so-called sharp questions”.

He added: “I was not just prepared for this, I wanted it, because it would give me the opportunity to respond in the same way.

“He tried to interrupt me several times, but still, surprisingly for a Western journalist, he turned out to be patient and listened to my long dialogues, especially those related to history.

“Frankly, I did not get full satisfaction from this interview."

What’s more, during his session at the aforementioned summit – titled ‘Tucker Carlson’s Vision: What’s Next for Storytelling’ – chair and TV presenter Emad Eldin Adeeb was also pretty scathing of the interview and what Carlson didn’t manage to ask Putin.

He said: “You should challenge some ideas, for instance, you didn’t talk about freedom of speech in Russia, you didn’t talk about Navalny, about assassinations, about the restrictions on opposition and the coming election.”

Carlson replied: “I didn’t talk about the things that every other American media outlet because those are covered and I have spent my life talking to people who run countries, in various countries, and have concluded the following.

“Every leader kills people, including my leader. Every leader kills people – some kill more than others. Leadership requires killing people, sorry.”

Now, the comments resurfacing following Navalny’s death, with Twitter/X users branding them “disgusting”:

Navalny’s death was first reported by Russia’s federal prison service on Friday (16 February), before it was confirmed by the activist’s spokesperson on Saturday.

The 47-year-old’s widow, Yulia Navalny, said Putin and his friends will not go unpunished for her husband’s death, and called on the international community to come together and fight Russia’s “horrific regime”.

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