Hillary Clinton calls Tucker Carlson a 'useful idiot' in response to Putin interview

WASHINGTON — Hillary Clinton called former Fox News host Tucker Carlson a “useful idiot” in response to the news that Carlson is interviewing Russian President Vladimir Putin.

“He says things that are not true. He parrots Vladimir Putin’s pack of lies about Ukraine, so I don’t see why Putin wouldn’t give him an interview because through him, he can continue to lie about what his objectives are in Ukraine and what he expects to see happen,” the former Secretary of State said on MSNBC Wednesday.

In a video on X, formerly Twitter, Carlson alleged that “not a single Western journalist has bothered” to interview Putin and that most Americans have no idea why Putin invaded Ukraine two years into the war.

“There are risks to conducting an interview like this obviously,” Carlson said in the clip. “So we’ve thought about it carefully over many months. Here’s why we’re doing it. Our duty is to inform the people.”

However, CNN’s Abby Phillip debunked Carlson’s claims Tuesday, arguing that serious news outlets, including CNN, have reached out to Putin for an interview “over and over again” and have covered his words since the war began, including his reasons for why he invaded Ukraine.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: 'Useful idiot': Hillary Clinton calls out Tucker Carlson for interviewing Putin