Tucker Carlson previews interview with Brazilian far-right leader Bolsonaro months after fawning over Hungary's authoritarian leader
Tucker Carlson previewed an interview with Brazil's far-right president, Jair Bolsonaro.
Carlson said it showed Bolsonaro "bears no resemblance whatsoever" to how he is shown in Western media.
Bolsonaro, a Trump ally, has weakened environmental protections and spread conspiracy theories.
Fox News host Tucker Carlson previewed an interview with Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, saying the far-right leader is completely different to the way he has been portrayed in Western media.
Carlson previewed the interview on his Wednesday show, airing a clip of him sitting down with Bolsonaro. When the clip ended, he said on his show that it was an "amazing interview."
"This will shock you," Carlson said. "Bolsonaro bears no resemblance whatsoever to the descriptions of Bolsonaro you have read in The New York Times. Completely different person. Seen that before?"
When interviewing Bolsonaro, Carlson said the parallels between US and Brazilian politics were "striking to an American."
He asked Bolsonaro, who is running for reelection in October: "You are opposed by a coalition of billionaires, college professors, and CNN. Tell us what the opposition wants. What will Brazil look like if your opponent wins?"
Bolsonaro responded by claiming the media "never gave me any visibility or space" and constantly attacked him, and said without giving specifics that Brazil would end up like Venezuela — which is currently ruled by a socialist government — if left-wing politicians got into power in his country.
"All of South America will be colored red, if you understand me. And in my view, the United States will become virtually an isolated country in the world.""
Bolsonaro, who has been president of Brazil since 2019 and is an ally of former President Donald Trump, has weakened environmental protections, including the destruction of the Amazon rainforest and reallocating land pledged to indigenous tribes. He has also spread conspiracies about COVID-19 vaccines.
The Bolsonaro interview comes months after Carlson was criticized for interviewing Hungary's authoritarian President Viktor Orbán last year.
Carlson met with Orbán in Hungary for the interview and suggested that the US was less free than the European country, where Orbán has targeted his country's media, judiciary, and political system.
Orbán has also implemented widely-condemned policies against migrants and the LGBTQ community.
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