https://tuckercarlson.com/the-vladimir-putin-interview

You have to pay for this – it’s on the newly founded Tucker Carlson Network. I think it’s worth the subscription – I don’t see anyone else out there, interviewing the “hot potatoes” – Trump, Putin…when is Elon Musk up?!?!

Level set: Tucker Carlson is a little “dumb” – even though he furrows his brows like Freud, there’s some empty space back there. In the interview, Putin said he had heard that Carlson was a history buff. But when Putin proceeded to deliver a quite impressive historical context for Ukraine, Tucker was lost, and even a little bored. Thisis because he had originally asked Putin why he did it – and then he got this long, intellectual background, which is not in the style of American porn – just get to the climax scene already!

And I was surpised to see a spelling error in the “deck” portion of the interview webpage:

and you said that you were acting because you had come to the conclusion that the United States, through NATO, might initiate a, quote, surprise attack on our country and too American ears, that sounds paranoid.

https://tuckercarlson.com/the-vladimir-putin-interview/

While this was done by some AI podcast software, undoubtedly, it should have been reviewed? And as it was a transcription of a verbal exchange, the grammar and punctuation is probably not a point to nit pick on, or at least does not reflect on Tucker’s education. But it does reflect on his AI and website people.

That was my first concession: wish it had been someone else in the interviewer chair. The second, like unto it, is that Vladivmir Putin is NOT a nice guy, per his history. So whatever he says needs to be colored by the fact that he has been shown to be a ruthless ruler. And to Tucker’s point: he did not answer the simple question at the outset:

At the beginning of the interview, we asked the most obvious question, which is why did you do this?

Ibid.

That’s it. I could end my little essay right here and now with this simple point: after clearly delineating how historically Ukraine was passed around the world powers, but always essentially Russian in language and culture, and how the United States and Western Europe have wiped their collective asses with Russia – the butt of a huge joke, the punchline of which is Russia is a permanent outsider, and how mad that makes him (Putin), none of this is justification for starting a war on Ukrainian soil – because such a war will not elimimate Russia’s pains of Western alienation – in fact, such a war serves only to isolate Russia even more, right or wrong though the Western opinion might be. So that only leaves the conqwuest of Ukrianian soil as the motive, and that, to what end? So that NATO cannot encroach further closer to Russia, because Russia will own Ukraine, which will prevent Ukraine from every being asked to join NATO, because NATO will never ask Russia to be a member. Thus, depsite his rationale, much of which is valid, Russia will forever remain the outsider. The war does not solve this. He never addresses this point.

Putin is much more intelligent and well-educated that many US Presidents, including the current one. Barrack and Bill, I will concede, are his match, in both intellect and artful deception. Most important were his observations on the state of geopolitics: accurate, and, sadly, far more accurate in all senses, than that of the US political powers.

Tucker: But you’ve never explained why you think that happened, except to say that the West fears a strong Russia. But we have a strong China the West does not seem very afraid of. …

Vladimir Putin: The West is afraid of strong China more than it fears a strong Russia, because Russia has 150 million people and China has 1.5 billion population….China’s potential is enormous. It is the biggest economy in the world today in terms of purchasing power parity and the size of the economy. It is already overtaking the United States quite a long time ago, and it is growing at a rapid clip. Let’s not talk about who is afraid of whom. Let’s not reason in such terms.

Ibid.

I particularly like the statment: “let’s not talk about who is afraid of whom.” I believe that the US has not fear, but paranoia – paranoia that it will not always be the GREATEST POWER ON THE FACE OF THE EARTH – caps used to identify mania.