Tucker Carlson’s exchange with Australian journalist

After an uneasy start where Carlson shrieked when he heard the name Putin and without letting the reporter post his question, went on began a rant.

To which Sakkal interjected, “You’ve preempted my question on President Putin”

But Carlson wasn’t listening and went on with his theatrics, “He’s so bad!” Carlson exclaimed sarcastically, laughing it up. “Did he make you take the COVID shot?”

When Sakkal countered that the vaccines saved millions of lives, Carlson refused to believe it.

“Oh, yeah. Safe and effective. This is why everyone loves the media!” he mocked the reporter. “It’s like a time capsule. It’s like you’re the last Japanese soldier on Okinawa thinking the war’s still going on. No, it didn’t save millions of lives.”

To which a visibly irritated Sakkal interjected, “Can I get the full [question] without interruption?” Once Carlson finally allowed Sakkal to continue, he went ahead.

“I’m interested in your position on Putin. The many people in this crowd who would adore a conservative prime minister in this country like John Howard, Tony Abbott, mainstream right-wingers like Boris Johnson, Australian Liberals—some of their MP’s are in the crowd—are vehemently anti-Putin,” he began.

“They believe he’s a reprehensible figure who doesn’t believe in the values of conservatism, such as the rule of law and democracy, which gives us the freedoms that we have in our country. I’m interested: Do you feel any level of shame or regret that you were termed a ‘useful idiot’?” he asked. An embarrassed Carlson started with a laugh before he went on with his usual grandstanding.

Crossing all limits of decency Carlson went on to term Sakkal’s long question an ‘absurd soliloquy’ and accused him of “word for things”

Carlson then, as expected diverted the topic to took Sakkal’s characterization of Boris Johnson.

“First, I’m stuck on the idea that Boris Johnson is a right-winger. Do you know Boris Johnson? I do. Boris Johnson is a criminal buffoon who, like so many who claim to love Ukraine, is single handedly responsible for the deaths of hundreds of thousands of Ukrainian men in this war that Ukraine cannot win,” he said.

“And I would just refer you to Wikipedia. How many more people does Russia have than Ukraine? Do you know? 100 million. And in a land where that’s a relevant number, it is not possible for Ukraine to beat Russia. The best they can do is go for peace. That’s been known, including by [Ukrainian President Volodymyr] Zelensky, who wanted that since the early days of this conflict,” he continued. “And Boris Johnson, on orders from the Biden administration, shut down—and this is not a disputed fact, this is a fact admitted by everybody now—shut down the peace negotiations almost two years ago, and Ukraine has been completely destroyed.”

The point made by him have been disputed, a study in Foreign Affairs has a different story to tell.

Carlson continued, “And now Zelensky has passed a law allowing foreign corporations to own land there. So you tell me what Ukraine is going to look like in 30 years, when all of it is owned by Blackrock and multinational corporations, and its population is not Ukrainian? Okay?”

Carlson concluded, “The tragedy of what’s happened in Ukraine orchestrated by the Western powers, including your government…and driven by my government—I feel shame about it and I hope you do too—is really one of the great crimes of my lifetime. So the idea that somehow if you’re against that, you’re for Putin—well of course that’s absurd,” he insisted.

Watch Tucker Carlson’s full exchange

Sakkal’s piece in his publication responded to Carlson’s rant, “This masthead’s question about whether he felt embarrassed conducting an interview with Putin – which was described by the Russian dictator as softball – was drowned out by barbs from the crowd. They were hyped up by Carlson who himself spoke over the question being asked.

Tucker Carlson’s followers gloat over his response

Carlson’s followers on social media are now hailing his defence as brutal response to ‘woke journalism’. By using terms like, ‘Tucker Carlson obliterated’, “demolishes brainwashed left-wing Australian “journalist”, and “Tucker Carlson just humiliated a lying mainstream media journalist”, they hailed him as hero.

However, Republicans Against Trump, X handle called him a ‘Russian asset’.