Chris Wallace dubbed ‘jealous’ after he slams Putin interview, calls Tucker Carlson ‘eager puppy’

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Renowned journalist Chris Wallace did not hold back in his criticism of Tucker Carlson's recent interview with Vladimir Putin, characterizing his former Fox News colleague as worse than a 'useful idiot'.

According to DailyMail, Wallace, aged 76, did not mince words during his CNN show, 'The Chris Wallace Show', describing Carlson as "an eager puppy" during the two-hour Moscow interview with the Russian president.

Wallace criticizes Carlson's softball interview style

Wallace highlighted the lack of substantial questioning during the interview, stating, "Putin droned on for two hours and seven minutes, while Tucker sat there like an eager puppy. Occasionally, but rarely, he got in a question."

The veteran journalist underscored Carlson's failure to address critical issues such as the invasion of a sovereign country, civilian targeting, and Russian war crimes.

Drawing a sharp contrast, Wallace referenced his own 2018 interview with Putin for Fox News, where he asked about the alarming trend of opposition figures ending up dead or close to it.

Wallace emphasized the importance of asking tough questions, asserting, "A reporter can ask Putin a tough question if he wants a real interview."

Wallace accuses Carlson of pandering to MAGA base

Wallace did not shy away from criticizing Carlson's motives, accusing him of cynically chasing after the affection of the MAGA base.

"No, he's made a cynical decision to chase MAGA's affection for dictators and what better way to cash in than Putin's interview," he said.

The CNN host compared Carlson to Cold War-era "useful idiots" who spread Soviet propaganda but noted that calling Tucker Carlson a "useful idiot" is unfair to those individuals.

As Carlson's interview with Putin marked the Russian president's first with a Western media figure since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine two years ago, White House national security spokesman John Kirby cautioned against taking Putin's statements at face value.

Kirby stressed the need for skepticism, given Putin's track record of restricting contact with international media and suppressing independent journalism.

Putin mocks Carlson's CIA ambitions

During the interview, Putin took the opportunity to mock Carlson's past aspirations to join the CIA after college. When Putin blamed the CIA for the 2014 Revolution of Dignity in Ukraine, Carlson did not push back.

Putin sarcastically remarked, "With the backing of CIA, of course, the organization you wanted to join back in the day, as I understand. We should thank God they didn't let you in. Although it is a serious organization, I understand."

While Putin acknowledged the possibility of resolving the imprisonment of journalists, including The Wall Street Journal's Evan Gershkovich, he reiterated espionage charges.

Internet slams Chris Wallace

Chris Wallace's recent criticism of Tucker Carlson's interview with Vladimir Putin have ignited a firestorm on X, formerly Twitter, with users expressing a range of opinions.

One user wrote, "Fox News should have gotten rid of Wallace after the 2016 election. He is terrible and always tried to make the republican candidates look bad."

Another added, "He sounds like a bitter ex girlfriend."

One commented, "I actually tried to view Chris Wallace as a journalist but slowly I realized that he's just another mouthpiece for the propaganda network, hiding in plain sight."

One replied, "I agree, Chris is jealous and the only way he can continue to try to be relevant is to feed other scraps of a real journalist’s work."

One wrote, "Mr Wallace you must have got your talking points from your master at the C.I.A."

This article contains remarks made on the Internet by individual people and organizations. MEAWW cannot confirm them independently and does not support claims or opinions being made online.