Steve Witkoff’s jaw-dropping Tucker Carlson interview: ‘He was using Kremlin talking points’
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Donald Trump’s Special Envoy to the Middle East, Steve Witkoff has appeared in a new interview, praising Vladimir Putin, saying he does not believe the Russian president is a bad guy, and echoing Kremlin propaganda.
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In brief…
- Steve Witkoff, a former property businessman, gave an interview with ex-Fox News anchor Tucker Carlson about peace talks with Russia, in which he spoke fondly of Putin.
- The News Agents say this highlights how much the Trump administration loves Putin, and why Russia is so unwilling to give any concessions to Ukraine in peace talks.
- They say Putin is making Trump look like a fool with constant flattery – such as sending Witkoff home to America with a portrait of the President.
What's the story?
Russia illegally invaded Ukraine in 2022, this is a fact.
President Vladimir Putin claimed it was to remove the "gangs of drug addicts and neo-Nazis" from its government.
But most experts believe it was to take control over the rare minerals in Ukraine soil, and expand Russia's grip and status on the world stage.
In the three years since, hundreds of thousands of people are estimated to have been killed in the conflict.
But, according to United States Special Envoy to the Middle East – Steve Witkoff, who has been conducting peace talks in Saudi Arabia, Putin is not the bad guy, describing him as "super smart".
Witkoff also said, in an interview with former Fox News host Tucker Carlson – not a journalist known for impartiality and balance – that Ukraine, which he described as a "false country", should give up territory occupied by Russian forces, using fake news and propaganda to support his argument.
He also described Keir Starmer's suggestion of sending British troops as peacekeepers once a peace deal is agreed as nothing more than a "posture and a pose" from the Prime Minister.
Witkoff had no experience of negotiating peace deals before he was appointed Trump's envoy in November 2024.
He worked in real estate, and was a member of a group set up by Donald Trump during his first presidency to tackle the impact the Covid-19 pandemic had on the US economy.
The News Agents say the interview highlights precisely how the US government feels about Putin, Russia and its invasion of Ukraine – as if it wasn't already clear before.
Steve Witkoff 'mouthing the words of Putin' after peace talks
What happens in the interview?
The conversation starts with a sensible conversation as various peace talk deals are discussed, including Israel and Gaza, and how it's important to hear from every voice involved – even a proscribed terror group such as Hamas.
But that, sadly – and perhaps predictably – does not last.
"The longer it goes on, the more batshit it becomes – or rather, the more revelatory it becomes about just how fond this guy is of Putin," says Emily Maitlis.
"Witkoff reveals so much more about the whole process and about the feelings of the administration than you would assume he could possibly have intended."
And what is revealed is how much Trump, and his administration, loves Putin.
Jon Sopel says the longer Witkoff speaks about peace negotiations, the more his background in property development becomes apparent.
"He became shallower and shallower, he was using Kremlin talking points," Jon says.
"He didn't know the different regions that he was trying to bring peace to. The more it went on, the less you realised he knew."
In the interview, he refers to occupied Ukraine territory as part of Russia, which has led newspapers in the country to claim that America "finally understands" the Russian objective in the ongoing war.
Witkoff recalls a "gracious moment" during a meeting with Putin where the Russian dictator gave him a "beautiful" portrait of Donald Trump, and repeated claims made by Putin that when the president was shot in the ear during his 2024 election campaign, Putin took himself to church to pray.
"This is the kind of connection that we've been able to re-establish through a simple word called communication, which many people would say I shouldn't have had because Putin is a bad guy," Witkoff said.
"I don't regard Putin as a bad guy."
Witkoff also echoed debunked claims from 2022 that a referendum had been held in the occupied parts of Ukraine (which he could not name), and the results had shown the people living there wanted their land to become part of Russia.
What's The News Agents' take?
Emily and Jon say the interview will have made for excellent viewing for Vladimir Putin, as the man responsible for bringing an end to the war in Ukraine praised his intelligence and echoed his own propaganda.
Emily says it highlights precisely why Russia is offering next-to-nothing in the peace talks, and is unwilling to make concessions in its invasion.
"If you've got the chief negotiator repeating your talking points and declaring that Ukraine actually is Russian land, you don't feel you've got to work very hard at this anymore," she says.
"The cat's out of the bag now. They do not like Zelensky, they do like Putin.
"There is a whole subset of Republicans who they call the Putin Republicans. These are people who think that Putin shares white Christian, Anglo-Saxon, heterosexual values that they want to be part of. Kindness and good will to all men and women out the window."
Jon says Putin is playing Trump for a fool, knowing exactly how to keep him on side with the simplest of tactics.
"Putin's core understanding is flattery will get you everywhere," he says.
"With Donald Trump, that's 100% true.
"You get the impression that Putin is an absolute master of knowing how to tickle Donald Trump's tummy and to make Donald Trump feel special and loved and happy."
The only person blind to Putin's tactics, Emily adds, is Trump.
"Why doesn't Trump realise the whole world is laughing at him and he doesn't realise he's being played," she adds.
Listen to the latest episode of The News Agents.
