Russian President Vladimir Putin shared his thoughts on his controversial interview with conservative commentator Tucker Carlson.
Speaking to reporters, Putin said that he was disappointed in the lack of sharp questions Carlson threw at him, adding that he did not enjoy giving the interview.
"To be honest, I thought he would be more aggressive and ask tough questions," Putin said of the two-hour interview. "I was just not prepared for that. I wanted that because it would have given me the opportunity to respond sharply. Which, in my opinion, would have added certain specificity to the conversation," Putin said. "But he chose a different tactic."
The Russian dictator spent roughly 30 minutes talking about the country's history, beginning with Eastern Europe and dating back to the Middle Ages. Putin told Russian TV interviewer Pavel Zarubin that he expected Carlson to interrupt him more often during their talk.
"He attempted to interrupt me several times, yet surprisingly, for a Western journalist, he proved patient. Listening to my lengthy replies, especially about history," Putin said of the interview. "And he didn't give me a chance to do what I was prepared for."
The Russian president said that he agreed to the interview, which garnered millions of views on X because Carlson differed from many Western news outlets' "one-sided" reporting of the Ukraine conflict.
Earlier this week, Putin said that a second term for President Joe Biden in 2024 would be better for Russia as opposed to former President Trump returning to the White House.
"He is more experienced, more predictable. He is an old-school politician," Putin said of Biden. "But we will work with any U.S. president who the American people have confidence in."
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