Monday night, the two talked about all things related to the Russia-Ukraine war and other topics.
(NewsNation) — Following up on their meeting last year, Chris Cuomo and Tucker Carlson sit down for part two of their conversation on NewsNation.
Click here to watch Part 1 of “Cuomo & Carlson: The Conversation”
Despite Carlson and Cuomo being critical of each other in the past, both were let go from partisan cable networks the past few years — Carlson from Fox and Cuomo by CNN.
They also have the same lawyer, Cuomo said, who encouraged them to “bridge the gap and talk to each other for personal reasons.”
Monday night, the two talked about all things Russia-Ukraine war, declassified JFK and Epstein files and DEI.
Russia-Ukraine War
The war entered its fourth year on Feb. 24 and continues despite efforts by the Trump administration to urge Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to withdraw.
The two world leaders got into a heated argument at the Oval Office on Feb. 28, when President Donald Trump raised his voice at Zelenskyy, calling him “disrespectful” and also saying, “You’re gambling with World War III.”
Carlson said the U.S. has funded “the worst war Europe has seen since World War II for three years.”
“We are not negotiating from a position of strength,” Carlson said. “Sorry, I’m not taking Russia’s side. I’m on America’s side. This is terrible for us. We’ve exposed how weak we are.”
Cuomo pushed Carlson, saying the former Fox News host is more sympathetic toward Russian President Vladimir Putin than Zelenskyy, to which Carlson agreed.
“I think it’s fair to judge leaders on how they do for their country. They have one job. Do a good job for your country, make it better,” Carlson said. “Russia, actually, for a country at war, is thriving.”
Cuomo challenged Carlson on making Ukraine out to be the bad guy.
“I got fired over this. … Ok, I feel bad for Zelenskyy, but we were required to pretend that he was Jesus and that Vladimir Putin was Satan. And my only point is that’s not true. It’s way more complicated than that,” Carlson said.
DEI
Another timely topic is diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, or DEI, which Trump has sought to dismantle within the federal government. Some private companies like Target have cut back their own DEI programs and divisions.
“The meritocracy to be judged by what you do, not what you look like,” Carlson said. “Every institution in American life, almost about any exception at all, has abandoned that standard and now has something called DEI or diversity hiring.”
Carlson said aptitude and basis of intelligence, not race or sex, should be prioritized.
“Now, in federal contracting, if you’re a woman-owned business, why do I have an interest in a woman-owned business?” he said.
JFK/Epstein files declassified
Carlson had a question for Cuomo: Why have the JFK files been kept secret for so long?
The Trump administration has moved to declassify the files.
“It’s a boogeyman. Why don’t they put it out? Because institutions protect themselves,” Cuomo responded. “Tucker, as we both know, really, and there is clearly information in those files that are going to make the CIA look bad.”
Carlson doesn’t buy it.
“There’s no one at the CIA who was involved. There’s no one in America who’s involved in the Kennedy assassination,” Carlson said.
What about the FBI?
“I’ve always thought that. And then in January, you know, there was a scramble over who’s gonna get what jobs in the new administration,” Carlon said. “You have a sitting member of the United States Senate whose main goal is to keep those files secret.”
Recently, Attorney General Pam Bondi ordered an investigation into the FBI’s handling of the release of the Jeffrey Epstein files.
“Where is your boy Kash Patel? He went in there to supposedly bust all this up,” Cuomo said.
