Russian President Vladimir Putin taunted Tucker Carlson for his failed bid to join the CIA, prompting a memorable look from the fired Fox News host during their controversial interview. (Watch the clip below)
In the conversation that dropped on X, formerly Twitter, Thursday, Putin had already blathered on about Russia and Ukraine’s history when he brought up the 2014 ouster of Kremlin-backed Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych after mass protests.
“With the backing of whom?” Carlson asked.
“With the backing of CIA, of course, the organization you wanted to join back in the day, as I understand,” Putin replied. “We should thank God they didn’t let you in.”
“Although it is a serious organization, I understand,” he added.
Burn!
Carlson’s unchanged expression ― constipation? consternation? cluelessness because of a translation device malfunction? ― proved to be one of the funnier moments.
After college the young right-winger did try to join the CIA but “the real-life agency, unlike its fictional counterparts, prefers not to hire young men who are gabby and insubordinate,” the New Yorker wrote in 2017.
Putin’s thin smile seemed to indicate he was enjoying his little joke ― and some viewers on X did also.