Jon Stewart rips ‘dishonest propagandist’ Tucker Carlson for Putin comments

(The hill) – Comedian Jon Stewart snapped at Fox News host Tucker Carlson when asked about the host’s recent comments about Russian President Vladimir Putin ahead of Russia’s attack on Ukraine.

“When you’re dealing with such a dishonest propagandist — and he is — you can’t take anything out of context because none of it is real,” Stewart said said von Carlson during an appearance this week in New York Times reporter Kara Swisher’s podcast. “He has admitted that when cornered, he lies. It’s all a game and a performance. I mean, honestly, I have no idea what the heck this guy really thinks.”

Carlson drew widespread criticism for his comments on Putin and his suggestion that the United States had little to gain by interfering in the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine.

“Has Putin ever called me a racist? Did he threaten to fire me because I disagree with him? Has he shipped every middle class job in my town to Russia? Did he create a worldwide pandemic that ruined my business and kept me indoors for two years?” Carlson asked on a recent episode of his popular prime-time show.

“Is he teaching my kids to embrace racial discrimination?” Carlson continued. “Does he make fentanyl? Is he trying to wipe out Christianity? does he eat dogs Those are fair questions and the answer to all of them is no.”

Stewart joked that “the checklist he came down was actually — used to be on my dating profile. It’s always been like that when I was looking for a potential partner, it’s always been, do they… do they make fentanyl? do you eat dog Are you calling me a racist? If they could pass that test, we were willing to share a meal or anything else we could think of.”

The former The Daily Show host has had a history with Carlson, a longtime political pundit and TV personality.

2006 he has made a fiery appearance on the now-defunct CNN show Crossfire, Carlson was a host at the time and mocked the debate show for being “bad” for America.

On Swisher’s podcast, Stewart accused Rupert Murdoch, the chairman of Fox Corporation, which owns Fox News and employs Carlson, of “trying to destroy the very fabric of this country.”

“I don’t know if it’s ideological or he just thinks, here’s the money. But how anyone can say in good conscience, like they say things like that on TV every night, that’s on my mind,” Stewart said.