Hillary Clinton drags “useful idiot” Tucker Carlson for Putin interview

Former Secretary of State Hilary Clinton on Wednesday put Tucker Carlson on blast after he teased an interview with Russian President Vladimir Putin, likening the ex-Fox News host to a “puppy dog” of the Russian leader.

Her scathing rebuke came in response to a question from MSNBC host Alex Wagner’s about what Carlson’s upcoming interview says about him, Putin and right-wing media.

“Well, it shows me what I think we’ve all known,” Clinton said. “He’s what is called a ‘useful idiot.’ I mean, if you actually read translations of what’s being said on Russian media, they make fun of him. I mean, he’s like a puppy dog. You know, somehow, after having been fired from so many outlets and the United States, he– I would not be surprised if he emerges with a contract with a Russian outlet because he is a useful idiot.”

The former secretary of state went on to lament Carlson’s penchant for pushing falsehoods and parroting Putin’s “pack of lies about Ukraine.” She said that the Russian leader’s acceptance of the interview is unsurprising given he could use Carlson’s platform to further lie about his goals in Ukraine.

Carlson has been a vocal critic of the United States’ military aid to Ukraine since Russia invaded the country in February 2022. The right-wing media personality has promoted conspiracy theories about Ukraine building bioweapons to use against Russia and disregarded Putin’s track record of authoritarianism while painting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky as a “dictator.”

The interview is “really quite sad,” Clinton continued, because it’s a sign that some Americans at this moment “are like a fifth column from Vladimir Putin.”

“There is a yearning for leaders who can kill and imprison their opponents, destroy the press, lead a life that is one of impunity and bound by any laws,” she added. “There’s a yearning among certain people in our country for that kind of leadership. And I find that absolutely gobsmacking terrifying.”