Vladimir Putin looks "younger than Tucker Carlson" an academic has claimed as he analysed the interview between the US journalist and the US president.
The “revealing” interview – Putin’s first with Western media since the start of the war in Ukraine, saw the 71-year-old premier “playing Tucker Carlson like a trout”, with Professor Anthony Glees describing the chat as a “masterpiece of deception”.
Speaking to GB News, Professor Glees said: “To me, his is the face of a psychopath – no human empathy, only an absolute obsession with his self-appointed mission, to restore what he sees as the historical greatness of the Russian Empire.
“As far as Putin the man is concerned, can this really be the head of a 71-year-old?
Professor Glees said: “To me, [Putin's face] is the face of a psychopath”
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“Can this be the same man who worked for the KGB before the Berlin Wall came down in 1989? It's almost impossible to believe, unless the doctors and plastic surgeons have been working miracles on him with ‘monkey gland hormone’ injections and Botox fillers over the years.”
“He looks younger than Carlson, who is actually almost 20 years his junior… Less hair, for sure, but the face…
“His face is indeed extraordinary, mesmerising, a mask covering a face beneath it, anatomically as well as psychologically.
“The eyes twitch and dart about, but the face itself barely moves.”
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The University of Buckingham professor said Putin “seized total control of the interview”
ReutersThis isn’t the first time Putin’s appearances have prompted speculation; last year, international security specialist Will Geddes said he may have been using “at least three” body doubles during a visit to Ukraine.
But despite Putin’s apparent plastic surgery job, he was totally in control of his run-in with the former Fox News journalist, said Prof Glees.
Prof Glees said Putin’s ability to compel Carlson, who “wants quick news bites” to listen to a “rambling” monologue was like “a fisherman would play a large trout he’s spotted in a limpid pool”.
The University of Buckingham professor said Putin “seized total control of the interview” within seconds and used his “KGB skill-set” to deceive, threaten and charm his interviewer.
He said the Russian president steered the conversation into being “an endless ‘history’ lecture with one or two political lollipops thrown in, to stop Carlson from walking away”.
Prof Glees said the talk was “of huge historical importance” and a “piece of filmed evidence that will be viewed time and time again both by analysts and the political leaders who have to confront Putin's evil each and every day”.
Tucker Carlson said: “We are not encouraging you to agree with what Putin may say in this interview, but we are urging you to watch it.
“You should know as much as you can and then, like a free citizen and not a slave, you can decide for yourself.”