Tucker Carlson's interview with Vladimir Putin has attracted over 190 million views on X (formerly Twitter) as of February 11.
"I think it was fortunate that the interview occurred well before the heart of the primary season so that voters got a fair chance to see the interaction for themselves in a long format forum that was, fortunately, not interrupted by pesky commercials," Charles Ortel, a Wall Street analyst and investigative journalist, told Sputnik.
"My guess is that getting on Putin’s calendar for such a long interview was a challenge, so I imagine it suited both parties to have this video out well in advance of the nominating convention for Democrats and of the general election. It would be great to have one or even more follow-ups in coming months," he added.
"I also think the contrast between Putin’s measured and thoughtful perspectives, having been a world leader for a quarter century with the lack of gravitas — to put it politely of Joe Biden, Kamala Harris and many others in both parties who are surface-level, donor-captured, soundbite specialists was stunning. This contrast was remarkable considering Biden’s post-interview meltdown before what remains of the 'press'," Ortel continued.
The Wall Street analyst noted that judging from viewership statistics, the corporate — and political donor-controlled — media is destroying itself.
He stressed that "no political interview has garnered nearly as much coverage as Putin’s recent sit down with Tucker," adding that he expects "it will, in the end, change the thinking of most open minds."
Clinton Family Had Reasons to Fear Putin Interview
Prior to the historic interview, US corporate media pundits and Democratic political figures urged Americans to ignore Carlson's show. Former secretary of state Hillary Clinton called Tucker a "useful idiot", claiming that the US journalist "parrots Vladimir Putin's pack of lies about Ukraine."
Clinton's remarks before the interview echoed those of Soviet-era apparatchiks who said of Nobel Prize-winning novel Doctor Zhivago by Boris Pasternak: "I haven't read Pasternak, but I condemn him."
"Hillary Clinton’s star set long ago while Tucker Carlson is, today, one of the most followed and fair-minded voices on earth," Ortel said, commenting on Clinton's rant. "Certainly, the Clinton family has much to fear as 5 November 2024 looms."
The Wall Street analyst, who has carried out a private investigation into allegations of fraud by the Clinton Foundation over several years, noted that "there are serious unanswered questions over how much foreign government and oligarch money may have funded Hillary's political campaigns in 2005-6, 2007-8, and 2015-16, including donations from Ukraine’s [oligarch] Victor Pinchuk and his wife."
He added that there are also "reasonable concerns as in the case of the Bidens, that the Clinton family exploited their offices to enrich themselves for decades, illegally."
"Hillary Clinton will not be remembered well in history," Ortel said. "She coasted into national politics, at first, in sympathy over the Lewinsky affair as she had no actual ties to my home state of New York. As Senator, she promoted foreign adventurism in Afghanistan and Iraq that clearly failed. Meanwhile her husband advanced a boldly crooked set of scam charities we have previously covered that bilked governments and other donors of billions of dollars, for which there has never been honest accounting."
"For a generation, globalists have protected and promoted power couples like the Clintons, especially media barons. With the rise of X and evident chronic failures of unchecked globalist schemes, many malefactors including the Clintons have much to fear as Trump surges towards potential re-election and then a necessary retribution and restoration of law and order under our Constitution," the investigative journalist pointed out.
26 November 2019, 17:02 GMT
US Deep State Withheld Key Facts About Ukraine Conflict
Ortel argued that Putin's history lesson to Carlson, tracing the causes of the Ukrainian conflict from the very start, was an excellent choice given that most Americans simply do not know much about Russia's history and development.
"Leaving aside the early centuries but starting in 1654, when Russia had already a long history, America did not even exist then and most colonial experiments had been dismal failures," the Wall Street analyst stated. "Even so, until Biden, American presidents jealously tried to defend our national borders and interests so it is entirely reasonably for Russia to do so at any time but certainly from 1992 forward."
Entrance of Bohdan Khmelnytsky to Kyiv
When the Ukraine conflict erupted, the Biden administration and the compliant US media sold Americans a "riskless, noble cause in supporting Zelensky," Ortel noted. However, key facts about the conflict were purposefully withheld by the Deep State, he stressed.
These key facts included, in particular, the February 2014 coup d'etat, American interference in the 2014 Ukraine election, corruption of the Biden family — and others — by Ukraine oligarchs, the role of neo-Nazis and the massive pilfering of aid to a leadership that certainly is not "democratic," "peaceful," or freedom-loving, according to Ortel.
"Putin, like Trump, is anathema to Davos globalists, but I think he warmed the hearts of silent patriots in many nations who deeply distrust unregulated, global bureaucracies that seem mostly to protect corrupt billionaires, some of whom promoting manifestly crazy policies," the Wall Street analyst said.
Even though Russia has been painted by the American mainstream press as a dread enemy of the US, "the American heartland and the Russian people likely share much in common and might benefit greatly from clear interaction, which sanctions certainly impede," he highlighted.
"Perhaps one simple answer explains much – American and British defense contractors need an enemy to promote arms sales and Russia is their preferred designee. Remember, defense contractors are among the most important contributors directly and indirectly to politicians," Ortel said. "Overall, one consequence of the interview is that Putin came across as a thoughtful and reasonable defender of Russian interests who, in my opinion, may have been too patient with US-UK aggression since 1992."
Biden's Inflicting Damage on US Economy, Security & Global Standing
During the interview with Carlson Vladimir Putin wondered as to why the Biden administration is inflicting damage on the American economy, security and global standing.
Ortel said those serious questions must be answered.
"Uncertainty is a great enemy in the important process of long-term investing. The Biden 'Administration' daily makes mockery of domestic and international law. These 'high crimes and misdemeanors' cannot simply be washed away in the 2024 election with a Trump landslide. Indeed, there must be a full accounting for corruption that courses through the American system and many of our NATO allies," the analyst believes.
Ortel assumed that the Obama-Biden "war on capitalism" that began in January 2009 is "chiefly responsible for destroying legitimate aspirations of private sector workers and their families who simply wish to sell competitive products and services to the world from American platforms."
"The bi-partisan addiction to deficit-spending and debt is crippling this and future generations of Americans," he said. "But the worst damage wrought by Biden is that many now correctly question who his master may be and even whether he and his family actually serve America’s interests."
Still, one area where Ortel disagreed with Vladimir Putin was on the subject of China's economic growth. The Wall Street analyst believes that China’s economy is groaning under too much real and shadow debt, and he questions whether capital investments seen in gross domestic product (GDP) accounts are profit-making.
Meanwhile, after the 2024 election, "America should think much more carefully about our budget and capabilities for foreign entanglements because, in truth, we have pressing internal issues to address concerning our bloated, counterproductive domestic bureaucracies," he pointed out.
Americans and Russians are talented and laborious people who could work out solutions which would be beneficial not only for their respective nations, but for the whole world, according to the analyst.
"On major issues particularly in math, science and engineering, I believe the best Russian and American minds might make major breakthroughs. In the near future too, I hope our people may connect directly, bypassing the corrupt vested interests here in America," Ortel concluded.