Did Vladimir Putin gain anything from his Tucker Carlson interview?

Russian President Vladimir Putin has a contentious — and allegedly deadly — relationship with journalists. And while he has mostly shunned American media, former Fox News host and right-wing commentator Tucker Carlson was able to get the Russian leader to sit with him for a two-hour interview released Thursday.  

The interview was a coming together between the Russian president and a commentator who has been lambasted for being decisively pro-Russia and pro-Putin during his time on Fox. Putin used their time together largely to spin narratives that backed his country's invasion of Ukraine and spoke at length about the history of Russia and the Soviet Union. Carlson appeared to provide minimal pushback to Putin in what many media outlets described as a "softball interview." The Kremlin only allowed Carlson to interview Putin because "his position differs from the approaches of the Western media," Russian news agency TASS said. 

But the question remains: Did Putin get anything out of his sit-down with Carlson? Given Carlson's strong support of Russia during the opening months of Russia's invasion, was the Russian president simply looking for a way to reach an American audience with propaganda? And did he accomplish this?  

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What did the commentators say? 

Putin likely hopes that by interviewing with a prominent conservative figure, "Republican lawmakers will be susceptible to Moscow's narratives usually only parroted within domestic Russian media," Will Vernon and Matt Murphy said for BBC. The interview with Carlson "offers an opportunity for the Kremlin to reach a wider, potentially sympathetic and heavily conservative audience in the U.S."

There is also a "domestic element" to the interview, Vernon and Murphy said: Russia is holding presidential elections next month. Putin is all but guaranteed to win — especially after his only major opponent was barred from running — but despite the formality, "the interview with Carlson allows the Russian leader to present himself as an international statesman with a global presence to his home audience," Vernon and Murphy said. 

Putin also likely granted Carlson the interview because the ex-Fox host sat and watched while the Russian leader "expounded his dubious historical theories about Ukraine, aired his grievances, and pushed MAGA talking points," Tom Porter said for Business Insider. Despite much of what Putin said about the historical rationale being false, Carlson "seemed to lack the knowledge, or willingness, to offer even the most cursory pushback," Porter said. He noted that Carlson "allowed Putin to claim, unchallenged, that Russia sought peace with Ukraine before launching the 2022 invasion," even though there is no evidence of this. 

But Putin's true purpose for the interview seemed to be summed up in two points. The first was to convey the message to the United States that there is "no point helping Ukraine with more money and weapons" because the war will continue regardless, Eva Hartog and Sergey Goryashko said for Politico. Second, the interview helped Putin spread a message that the "U.S. political system is, to borrow a phrase, an undrained swamp, and American democracy an illusion."

In all, the interview "was a massive propaganda victory for Putin, who can — and will — now twist the encounter for his own ends," Oliver Darcy said for CNN. "If there was any doubt that Putin did not view the sit-down with Carlson as a big win, a glance at how his own state-run media covered the affair should erase it," Darcy said, noting that Russian media began amplifying the interview almost immediately. 

What next? 

Additional aid for Ukraine has long been a point of conflict among American politicians. The U.S. Senate has voted to advance a "stripped-down bill that would provide aid to Israel, Ukraine and Taiwan," NBC News said. However, given the contention in Congress, the "next steps are uncertain and it's not yet clear it will have the votes for final passage in the chamber."

The one bright spot from the Putin interview could be related to Evan Gershkovich, a reporter for The Wall Street Journal who was detained in Russia in March 2023 on allegations of espionage. Carlson asked Putin about Gershkovich, and the Russian leader said a "prisoner exchange would probably lead to" his release, but "declined to give a time frame for the deal," the Journal said.