If Tucker Carlson is looking for a job, the Kremlin might have the answer.
Just hours after Fox News unexpectedly announced the anchor’s departure, Carlson was offered a job by Russian state media networks, which have fiercely supported the invasion of Ukraine and echoed much of his conspiracy rhetoric.
The fire anchor is known for his critical views of Western support for Kiev and has used his platform to question the massive amounts of financial and military aid the United States has sent to help repel the year-long invasion of Moscow.
RT, the broadcaster formerly known as Russia Today that is banned in dozens of countries, including the entire European Union, said on its English-language Twitter account on Monday: «Hey @TuckerCarlson, you can always ask more questions with @RT_com.» .
Vladimir Solovyov, the most prominent commentator on Russian state television and a staunch pro-Kremlin propagandist, said Carlson was welcome to join his nightly panel discussion, while suggesting he should consider running for the White House.
«You have our admiration and support in whatever endeavor you choose to pursue next, whether that be running for President of the United States (which you totally should, by the way) or doing an independent media project,» he wrote in an email. . according to a screenshot she shared on her Telegram channel.
«We will gladly offer you a job if you wish to continue as a presenter and host! You are always welcome in Russia and Moscow, we wish you the best of luck.»
Alongside the Telegram message, Solovyov wrote in English: «Tucker, join us. You don’t have to be afraid to upset Biden here,» using a common British expression to mock someone.
Speculation is swirling as to where Carlson might find a job next, whether at another right-leaning news network in the US or elsewhere.
Carlson has strong ties to Hungary and its authoritarian and pro-Russian far-right leader Viktor Orbán, who have you interviewed. Carlson hosted his Fox News show from the capital Budapest for one week in 2021.
In 2022, Carlson made a documentary titled «Hungary vs. Soros: Fighting for Civilization,» a reference to George Soros, the 92-year-old Hungarian-Jewish businessman and philanthropist who has become a scapegoat for war theorists. the conservative conspiracy in Europe and the world. US
Carlson has consistently criticized Ukraine since the February 2022 invasion and has often argued that the US is the real fighter in a proxy war against Russia, a point that Russian propagandists have also made.
He has referred to Ukraine as an undemocratic «client state» of the US State Department and called out the notion that it is fighting for its sovereignty «a lie.»
He has called President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who is praised around the world for his country’s staunch defense, a «dictator» who has misused the more than $77 billion the United States has sent in aid so far. argued Carlson.
«You can’t have an audit. Because if you want an audit of where your money is going in the most corrupt country in Europe, you are a tool of Putin!» Carlson said on his Fox News show in March.
Jon Roozenbeek, a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Cambridge and an expert on Russian propaganda and disinformation, said the job offers may be an attempt to «troll» the West rather than being genuine.
«It’s probably much more useful in any type of American outlet that isn’t actively and openly sponsored by the Russian government,» he told NBC News.
The goals of Russia’s propaganda are not necessarily to persuade people to accept its position, Roozenbeek said, but to «sow doubt or uncertainty or raise pulse and emotions» and make sure the Russian position is heard as much as possible. in the main discussion.
“So the bigger the voice that propagates these types of narratives, the better,” he said.
Western governments have consistently restricted Russian state TV channels since the conflict in Ukraine began in 2014, when Russian-backed paramilitary groups established internationally unrecognized administrations in Luhansk and Donetsk, the same year Russia sparked worldwide outrage. upon annexing Crimea.