Interviewing Vladimir Putin in Moscow, Tucker Carlson helped unveil the Russian president’s thinking. Although it offers Putin some domestic propaganda value and a limited angle by which to divide Americans, I would argue that the interview was significantly more valuable to U.S. interests than it was negative. It gave us new insight into how Putin strategizes and where he stands on significant matters of mutual U.S.-Russia concern.

The interview began with Putin challenging Carlson’s quoting him as having warned before the start of the war in Ukraine in February 2022 that the United States was planning a surprise attack on Russia. Putin then launched into what might be called the “Putin lecture maneuver.”