Tucker Carlson has turned on Vladimir Putin in the wake of the shocking death of Alexei Navalny, just days after releasing a softball interview with the Russian president and a series of ‘tourism board style’ videos about the country’s clean train stations and cheap groceries.

In an exclusive statement to DailyMail.com, Carlson said: ‘It’s horrifying what happened to Navalny. The whole thing is barbaric and awful. No decent person would defend it.’

The former Fox News host told DailyMail.com that he was on a plane traveling from Dubai when Navalny’s death was announced.

‘I didn’t even know it happened till I saw the Daily Mail story,’ Carlson explained.

The conservative pundit has faced backlash over his bizarre sit-down with Putin last week after critics say he failed to challenge the Russian president.

When quizzed about the limitations of the interview at the World Government Summit on Monday, specifically regarding the imprisonment of Navalny, Carlson defiantly replied: ‘every leader kills people, leadership requires killing people.’

‘I didn’t talk about the things that every other American media outlet talks about because those are covered,’ he told Egyptian journalist Emad El Din Adeeb.

‘I have spent my life speaking to people who run countries, in various countries, and have concluded the following: That every leader kills people, including my leader.

‘Every leader kills people, some kill more than others. Leadership requires killing people, sorry. That’s why I wouldn’t want to be a leader.’

Russian news outlets announced Navalny’s death on Friday morning, citing the Siberian prison service where he was serving a nineteen-year sentence for ‘extremism’, sparking fury across the globe.

‘On February 16, 2024, in correctional colony No. 3, convict Navalny A.A. felt unwell after a walk, almost immediately losing consciousness,’ said a statement from prison officials.

‘Emergency doctors confirmed the death of the convict,’ it added.

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