Tucker Carlson AGAIN jumps to Russian despot's defense as he attacks theory he killed dissident Alexei Navalny

Tucker Carlson once again jumped to the defense of Russian President Vladimir Putin, claiming that anyone who thinks the brutal strongman was responsible for the untimely death of his main political opponent Alexie Navalny is “idiot.”

Carlson, 54, was speaking to former Fox News host Glenn Beck on the latter's BlazeTV network when he made his comments.

“Navalny's death at the Munich Security Conference, amid disagreements over aid to Ukraine, is certainly not good for Russia. People who say Putin killed him are idiots,” Carlson said.

Alexie Navalny died Friday at the Arctic penal colony where he was serving a 19-year prison sentence, Russia's prison agency said. He was 47. His cause of death has not been made public.

On Monday, Navalny's widow, Yulia, released a video accusing Putin of killing her husband and claiming the refusal to release his body was part of a cover-up. His widow has joined the chorus of Western leaders who have blamed the dissident's death on Putin.

Carlson's latest comments are a firecracker from his statement decrying Navalny's treatment.

Carlson said Navalny's death was not “beneficial” for Russia

During the interview, Beck also asked Carlson if he was ever afraid or intimidated during a conversation with Putin

“Navalny's death at the Munich Security Conference, amid disagreements over aid to Ukraine, is certainly not good for Russia. People who say Putin killed him are idiots,” Carlson said

Carlson was widely criticized for his interview with Putin, in which he failed to reverse many of the despot's bizarre claims

In an exclusive statement to DailyMail.com, Carlson said: “It is horrific what happened to Navalny. The whole thing is barbaric and terrible. No decent person would defend it.”

In the wake of Carlson's comments to Beck, DailyMail.com has reached out to the host for further clarification on what he found “horrific” about “what happened to Navalny” and what was “barbaric and terrible” about it.

His death came just days after Carlson conducted a soft ball interview with Putin in Moscow.

It subsequently emerged that on the day the interview took place, Putin's secret security forces, the FSB, arrested Russian-American citizen Ksenia Karelina on charges of insult.

During his interview with Beck, he asked Carlson, “Have you ever thought, 'I'm not in my home country. I'm saying this to a very powerful man who does whatever he wants?' Have you ever worried?

'No. I didn't worry for a second when I was there. I wasn't worried about going there, not because I trust the Russian government, I don't, but because my children are grown, and I don't really care at this point. I feel protected. I say my prayers,” Carlson said.

Speaking specifically about Putin, Carlson said, “I wasn't intimidated at all. I've been annoyed a few times.' He described the dictator as “interesting” but said he was also “hostile.”

Alexei leaves behind his wife Yulia (photo)

Russian police officers stand near the flowers at the Wall of Grief monument, erected in memory of Alexei Navalny

The Dancing with the Stars contestant added that he felt Putin's hostility toward the West was caused by the West's “rejection” of Russia.

'[Putin is] deeply wounded by what he sees as the rejection of the West.' When he adds that it makes him 'angry'.

“Russia entered eastern Ukraine because the Biden administration pushed them to do so. There is a war in Ukraine because the Biden administration wanted a war in Ukraine,” Carlson continued.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov rejected the allegations of a cover-up, telling reporters that “these are absolutely unfounded, brazen accusations against the head of the Russian state.”

Putin has not publicly commented on Navalny's death.

On Monday, he signed a decree promoting a number of law enforcement and military officials, including Valery Boyarinev, the first deputy head of the state prison.

Boyarinev, who was promoted to the rank of colonel general, has been accused by Navalny's team of personally imposing restrictions on the opposition leader.

Peskov denied there was any connection between Navalny's death and Boyarinev's new rank.

A view of the entrance to the IK-3 prison colony in the city of Kharp, Yamalo-Nenetsk region, about 1,900 kilometers northeast of Moscow, Russia

Navalny's death has robbed the Russian opposition of its best-known and most inspiring politician, less than a month before elections that will almost certainly give Putin another six years in power.

Many Russians saw Navalny as a rare hope for political change amid Putin's relentless crackdown on the opposition.

In her video on Monday, Yulia Navalnaya vowed to continue his fight against the Kremlin. On Tuesday, her account on X, where she had posted the video, was briefly suspended by the platform without explanation, but later restored.