Conservative commentator Tucker Carlson is facing criticism for a video he posted after shopping in a Russian grocery store.
In the video, Carlson states he is “legitimately angry” because his team estimated the cost of groceries for a week in Russia would cost them around $400.
“It was $104 U.S. here,” he continued. “That’s when you start to realize that ideology maybe doesn’t matter as much as you thought, corruption.”
Carlson went on:
“If you take people’s standard of living and you tank it through filth and crime and inflation, and they literally can’t buy the groceries they want, at that point maybe it matters less what you say or whether you’re a ‘good person’ or a ‘bad person.’ You’re wrecking people’s lives in their country and that’s what our leaders have done to us, and coming to a Russian grocery store, the ‘heart of evil,’ and seeing what things cost and how people live, it will radicalize you against our leaders. That’s how I feel, anyway. Radicalized.”
This was just the latest video Carlson shared in an attempt to make Russia appear to be some glowing society compared to the U.S.
And Sen. Thom Thillis (R-N.C.) was not having any of his participation in sharing what can only be described as actual Russian propaganda, “Ah yes, Russia is so much better than the U.S. with all those cheap groceries and lavish subway stations!”
“The Soviets had a term for people like Tucker: useful idiots,” he added.
Ah yes, Russia is so much better than the U.S. with all those cheap groceries and lavish subway stations! The Soviets had a term for people like Tucker: useful idiots.pic.twitter.com/KngvXZtoaG
— Senator Thom Tillis (@SenThomTillis) February 15, 2024
Several notes on the video pointed out that while the cost for Carlson and his team may have seemed like a bargain, it would not be quite the same for Russians who earn about $791 per month, which would mean $104 for groceries every week would add up to more than half of their income.
In another video, he appeared amazed that carts in the grocery store featured an “incentive” to return them and “not just bring it to your homeless encampment,” by requiring shoppers to insert 10 rubles to acquire the cart, which they can get back when they return it. Many users also pointed out stores in the U.S. have had this feature as well for several years.
Yet again in another video, Carlson compared New York City’s subway to the clean and beautiful Moscow Metro. However, he left out the background story of how the Soviet Union treated the British engineers who helped build it. Or the fact it was designed to impress Westerners
And in all of this fawning, he seemed to have left out that this is all in a country where a leading opposition figure, Alexei Navalny, was poisoned multiple times and imprisoned for years. On Friday, Navalny died in prison.
Perhaps Carlson will surprise those skeptical of his fawning trip to Russia by releasing videos showing the parts of the country its government would prefer we did not see.
Now, yes, it would it be nice if the U.S. had subways and cities that were clean and safe. And yes, the liberal media has gone crazy labeling everything it doesn’t like “Russian propaganda” or “disinformation.”
But when you go to Moscow and record glowing videos about how great Russian society is to put down your own country while leaving out key details about the cost of living there for Russians or the downtrodden parts of the country, or the civil rights landscape, the fact of the matter is, you’re sharing propaganda.
There are plenty of countries with authoritarian governments that appear to be beautiful and wonderful places to live. Ashgabat has some really nice, ornate marble buildings, but that doesn’t mean living in Turkmenistan is pleasant. Perhaps Carlson will make his next stop there or North Korea.
