Tucker Carlson brought controversy to Danielle Smith's Calgary — then took her somewhere dicier

Back at work in Alberta after two weeks of vacation, Premier Danielle Smith chose as her first public appearance in 2024 a conversation on stage with Tucker Carlson, the U.S. commentator whose views and remarks became too much for his Fox News bosses to tolerate.

On Tuesday night, they enjoyed a private dinner together in Calgary, these two former mainstream broadcasters, one now a government leader and one who's fielded speculation about becoming Donald Trump's vice-presidential running mate.

«And had the best time, thank you,» Carlson told Smith at the start of their 17 minutes together at his sold-out speaking event. «Thank you for letting me, a rank foreigner, ask you questions.»

There will alwaysbe those who say she's tacitly endorsing his comments or showing poor judgment doing an event with Carlson.

She'd had a ready response for those who question the appropriateness of Alberta's premier sharing a podium with the figure who cost his channel advertisers after saying immigrants make his United States «poorer and dirtier,» and has steadily derided Ukraine's defence against Russian invasion. Smith states she doesn't agree with every word uttered by any interviewers, from CBC and beyond.

It's true that Smith has not said anything that remotely compares to Carlson's words on immigrants, or transgender people, and ceased offering any Carlson-like skeptical commentary on Ukraine after becoming premier in late 2022.

There was merit in speaking with the popular U.S. media figure, her spokesperson insisted when the Carlson-Smith event was first announced last fall. A way to «share Alberta's message,» he said — and indeed, near the conversation's end, the premier delivered the long-standing Alberta line that the United States