Tucker Carlson set to release controversial interview with Vladimir Putin – live

Tucker Carlson previously conducted an unhinged attack on Mulsim congressman Illhan Omar, saying that she was “living proof that immigration has made the US more dangerous”.

Perhaps his most egregious offence however was that Mr Carlson, alongside fellow hosts Sean Hannity and Laura Ingraham, peddled former President Donald Trump’s lies about the 2020 election being rigged.

Privately Mr Carlson mocked Mr Trump’s allies, said he hated him and described him as a “demonic force”.

This information was revealed in pre-court filings after Fox News was sued by Dominion Voting Systems, for its coverage of the 2020 presidential election.

Fox was forced into a humilitating settlement of $787.5m, and not long afterwards the network’s superstar presenter was relieved of his job.

Mr Carlson’s started as a contributor at Fox News in 2009 and rapidly ascended through the organisation to become the most famous voice of Conservative media in the United States.

His show attracted a loyal following, averaging almost 3.5 million viewers a night in 2022, but was dogged by allegations of racism, promoting anti-immigrant sentiment and peddling conspiracy theories.

Mr Carlson’s rhetorical style is akin to US radio shock jocks and his embrace of sacred Republican political ideals, such as his anti-abortion position and enthusiastic backingof gun rights, led to fevered speculation he could one day become a presidential candidate.

His show, Tucker Carlson Tonight, was involved in many scandals, on and off-screen controversies and cruel behaviour.

In 2018 a number of large sponsors, such as Land Rover and Samsung, boycotted the show after Mr Carlson said that immigrants make the US “poorer, dirtier, and more divided.”

He described Black Live Matter protesters as “criminal mobs”, described white supremacy as a “hoax” and claimed that the metric system was a conspiracy.

Tucker Carlson was born on May 16, 1969 and was the eldest son of Lisa McNear and Dick Carlson. He grew up in San Francisco, California, before later moving to San Diego after his parents divorced.

His father remarried to Patricia Caroline Swanson, an heiress to Swanson Enterprises, a large US firm that developed canned foods and ready meals.

Mr Carlson attended St. George’s School, a boarding school in Middletown, Rhode Island, before spending four years at Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut.

However, he did not graduate and after encouragement from his father, decided to pursue a career in journalism.

Mr Carlson worked for a number of prominent news organisations such as CNN, PBS and MSNBC, before securing a role with Fox News, where he would become TV host of the most popular, and controversial show, in the US.

His most well-known stint prior to starting at Fox News was hosting political chat show Crossfire. In a later viral clip he was called a “d**k” by comedian Jon Stewart after they clashed in 2004 on the show.

He is married to Susan Thomson Carlson, who he met while at boarding school, and they have four children together.

Mr Carlson is the first western journalist to secure an interview with Mr Putin since the Russian president’s forces invaded Ukraine almost two years ago.

The interview, Mr Carlson said in his video, will be distributed for free on his website and on X, formerly Twitter.

Posting on X on Tuesday, with the Kremlin in the background, he said: “Here’s why we’re doing it. First, because it’s our job. We’re in journalism. Our duty is to inform people, two years into a war that’s reshaping the entire world.

“Most Americans are not informed. They have no real idea what’s happening in this region, here in Russia or 600 miles away in Ukraine, but they should know. They’re paying for much of it in ways they might not fully yet perceive.”

My colleague Richard Hall has written an thorough piece on what Tucker Carlson has been doing since his exit from Fox News.

The Kremlin has slapped down a claim by far-right influencer Tucker Carlson that no Western journalists have tried to interview Russian president Vladimir Putin about his invasion of Ukraine.

Mr Carlson accused the Western media of engaging in “fawning pep sessions” with Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky, whom he has previously called a “dictator” and likened to a rat, while confidently asserting that “not a single Western journalist has bothered to interview the president of the other country involved in this conflict: Vladimir Putin”.

The former Fox News commentator, who has heaped effusive praise on Mr Putin for years, made the false claim in a video posted on Tuesday to promote his interview with the Russian leader, which has reportedly already been filmed but not yet posted online.

Richard Hall and Gustaf Kilander reports:

Tucker Carlson has revealed why he is interviewing Vladimir Putin in Russia.

Carlson has openly criticised the Ukrainian cause and pushed Kremlin talking points regarding Russia’s war of aggression in Ukraine on X, formerly Twitter.

Posting a video on X on Tuesday (6 February), he said: “There are risks to conducting an interview like this, obviously.

“Here’s why we’re doing it. First, because it’s our job. We’re in journalism. Our duty is to inform people, two years into a war that’s reshaping the entire world.

“Most Americans are not informed. They have no real idea what’s happening in this region, here in Russia or 600 miles away in Ukraine, but they should know. They’re paying for much of it in ways they might not fully yet perceive.”