Tucker Carlson, conservative commentator and frequent guest of the Kremlin, was given a newly minted “Champion for America” award at President-elect Donald Trump’s Florida resort on Tuesday night, as part of a fundraiser that also fêted country-pop singer Robert “Kid Rock” Ritchie.
The sold-out $5,000-a-plate gala dinner at Mar-a-Lago was set up to benefit the conservative political action committee (PAC) America’s Future, led by Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn, who was also scheduled to appear at the event, Politico reported. For an additional $3,800, guests could join a VIP poolside reception.
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“The evening is hosted by Lt. Gen. Mike Flynn, USA, (Ret.) America’s Future Board Chair, and includes musical performances, award ceremonies, a poolside reception, dinner, and keynote remarks in the magnificent Mar-a-Lago Grand Ballroom,” a press release from America’s Future reads.
Flynn had served briefly – less than a month – as Trump’s first national security advisor in 2017, until he became embroiled in controversy for lying about having discussed sanctions with the Russian ambassador prior to Trump’s inauguration.
He also concealed having conducted paid lobbying work for Turkey without registering as a foreign agent.
In 2015 Flynn was paid by $45,000 by Russian state-owned RT to speak at a gala dinner, where he sat with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Afterwards he became a frequent commentator for RT.
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In 2017, Flynn pleaded guilty to “willfully and knowingly” making false statements to the FBI. In 2020, two weeks before his scheduled sentencing, Trump pardoned him.
Earlier this year, award-winner Tucker Carlson became the first US media figure to interview Russian President Vladimir Putin since Russia’s 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine, and was lambasted for his timidity in questioning the Russian leader.
He continued with a similarly ingratiating approach during his sit-down with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, in an interview posted on Dec. 6., leading some observers to wonder whether Carlson was actually a pigeon carrier for Trump’s messages to Putin, in addition to his unofficial role as the once and future president’s porte-parole.
During a TV broadcast of Kremlin-controlled Solovyov Live, host Vladimir Solovyov interviewed Malek Dudakov, an expert on American affairs, and referred to Carlson’s interview with Lavrov with some suspicion.
“What is important here is that the man who came to talk to Lavrov spent the last six months shoulder-to-shoulder with Trump. Obviously, he didn’t just come to conduct an interview. He has something to say. Apparently, he has a message that he is bringing,” Solovyov said.
Dudakov agreed, replying, “Yes, we currently see quite a few similar emissaries [from Trump].”
“It seems Viktor Orban is again planning to meet with Trump, and after that, he may come to Russia once again. There are people who are willing to pass messages back and forth, indirectly,” Dudakov said.
In last week’s interview with Carlson, Lavrov was given as much time as he needed to continue the Kremlin’s nuclear doomsday posturing, saying he hopes the West took “seriously” Moscow’s recent use of a hypersonic missile in Ukraine, and warned that Russia was ready to use “any means” to defend itself.
The United States and its allies “must understand that we would be ready to use any means not to allow them to succeed in what they call strategic defeat of Russia,” Lavrov said.
In yet another affront to factual reality, the foreign minister went on to contend that Ukraine started the war, not Russia. Carlson allowed him to ramble on.
In a recent Rolling Stone article titled “How Kid Rock Went From America’s Favorite Hard-Partying Rock Star to a MAGA Mouthpiece” the author described how Ritchie has been “criticized for encouraging anti-trans bigotry and violence,” how he predicted Trump’s electoral victory in Michigan, and “suggested that listening to the national anthem will make ‘liberal tears fall like rain.’”
Ritchie stirred some controversy when his social media pages featured memes ridiculing President Volodymyr Zelensky, but fact-checkers revealed that the posts had come from some of his fans rather than from the musician himself.
Also slated to attend the Tuesday night “awards ceremony,” according to a press release from “America’s Future” were: actor Mel Gibson and NHL Hall of Famer Wayne Gretzky.
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