
Working at RT was ‘almost nirvana' for me – Rick Sanchez to Tucker Carlson
American news personality and former RT host Rick Sanchez has been interviewed by Tucker Carlson. Released on Monday, the interview touches on Sanchez's experience with the Russian broadcaster RT and how the administration of former President Joe Biden forced him to stop working with it.
Sanchez had worked with RT since 2019 but was ultimately forced to cut ties with the broadcaster last September. The ex-host revealed that his departure was preceded by an 'interesting' phone call from an 'old friend" who he used to work with in mainstream news.
'He was a manager at CNN, as a matter of fact,' Sanchez told Carlson. 'He says, just calling to let you know that I'm now working somewhere else. I'm no longer in the news.'
His acquaintance revealed that 'a lot of people' at his new workplace had taken an interest in his RT show and 'don't necessarily like some of the things that you're saying.' The 'old friend' did not specify where exactly he now worked but implied it was a government agency – 'kind of' State Department – Sanchez recounted.
'And I said, well, they're welcome to come on and tell me, whoever they are, tell me. I mean, we could have them on as a guest and we can discuss whatever it is. But throughout the conversation he was very evasive,' he said, adding the conversation rang off as 'a warning or a threat,' or 'maybe both.'
Three weeks after the cryptic phone call, Sanchez was forced off the air by the US government. This happened despite the fact that RT had already been banned in the US, his show was not airing in America, and Sanchez himself was not working for RT directly but through a company contracted to produce the show.
'All of a sudden I'm hearing and then it happens the Biden administration has decided to go through the Treasury Department – this little agency called OFAC [Office of Foreign Assets Control] that most people have never heard of, which controls what businesses in the United States are allowed to exist and which ones aren't, and they shut down the place where I worked,' Sanchez said, adding that a special provision 'seemed to say that any American working for this entity will go to jail or be fined.'
'That's what happened. And it happened in America. And it hurts being a guy who was born in a communist country and has spent his whole life saying we are so different than the rest of the world because we allow people to say and think and work wherever they want. And all of a sudden, here I was being told I couldn't work or think or say whatever I wanted,' the Cuban-born journalist added.
Speaking of his experience with RT, Sanchez described it as 'almost nirvana,' and added that the broadcaster is unmatched by mainstream outlets in terms of editorial freedom.
'It was really a great experience, especially comparatively speaking, to what I had experienced in the past. They generally did not mess with me. And when they did, we had normal editorial arguments, which happen in every newsroom and should of course,' he said. 'I wrote my entire show from top to bottom and nobody looked at it until it went on the air. How's that?'
Rick Sanchez spent a lifetime in television before becoming one of the highest rated anchors at RT. Last summer, the Biden administration forced him out of his job and threatened him with jail for refusing to repeat Zelensky's talking points. A case study on the death of free… pic.twitter.com/tt0xNBh36w

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles

Russia Today
2 days ago
- Russia Today
RT LAUNCHES NEW SHOW WITH VETERAN AMERICAN JOURNALIST RICK SANCHEZ
MOSCOW, JUNE 9, 2025 — On June 9th, RT will be premiering a new program, The Sanchez Effect, hosted by renowned American journalist Rick Sanchez. Over the course of his career, Sanchez has worked with major US networks, including CNN, MSNBC, and FOX. Disillusioned with the American establishment, he moved to Russia to work with RT. The new show will be broadcast in English and Spanish. The Sanchez Effect aims to challenge mainstream Western narratives. Rick Sanchez will share his take on global events and engage in discussions with his guests. The premiere episode, airing June 9 at 5:30 p.m. Moscow time, will feature an interview with Russia's top negotiator and presidential aide Vladimir Medinsky. Rick Sanchez is an Emmy and Peabody Award-winning journalist; he has interviewed four US presidents, as well as other prominent figures such as Fidel Castro and Mikhail Gorbachev. In 2019, having faced censorship, bias, and one-sided reporting in the US media, he decided to join RT. In 2024, already the host of his own show on the channel, he was forced to step down due to sanctions imposed on RT. In 2025, determined to continue his work despite RT being banned in the US, Sanchez made the decision to move to Moscow. He sees it as his mission to provide viewers with an alternative to the Western media discourse. 'When only one side of a story is permitted, that's when I push harder. If Moscow is deemed off-limits, it's precisely where I want to be. Because more often than not, truth resides in the places we're told not to look,' Sanchez explains. The Sanchez Effect will air Monday through Thursday. Former President of Ecuador Rafael Correa and Kenya's eminent pan-Africanist and anti-colonialism activist professor P.L.O. Lumumba also host shows on RT. Throughout the years, RT has worked with leading international media and public sphere personalities, including broadcasting legend Larry King, WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, prolific Indian actor, best-selling author and motivational speaker Anupam Kher, Pulitzer Prize-winning and Emmy-nominated journalist Chris Hedges, the 'most dangerous financial expert' Max Keiser, former First Minister of Scotland Alex Salmond, legendary football coach José Mourinho, top American veteran journalist Ed Schultz, and French media icon Frédéric Taddeï, among others. With its first international channel launched in 2005, RT is, today, a global TV news network providing breaking stories, current affairs coverage, commentary and documentaries in ten languages: English, Arabic, Spanish, French, German, Serbian, Chinese, Hindi, Portuguese and Russian; it also includes sister multimedia news agency RUPTLY. RT is the only Russian TV channel to be an eleven-time Emmy finalist. RT is now available to more than 900 million TV viewers in more than 100 countries around the globe. Just in 2024, RT projects received more than 23 billion views online.


Russia Today
30-05-2025
- Russia Today
Russian MP lays out terms for YouTube's return
YouTube can only resume full operations in Russia if it fulfills a series of legal and technical conditions, State Duma member Anton Nemkin has told RIA Novosti. Although not officially blocked, YouTube has been largely inaccessible in Russia since last year, when its loading speed began slow dramatically. Authorities blamed a lack of server maintenance following Google's exit from the country in 2022. Later, officials partially confirmed the slowdown was also linked to YouTube's failure to comply with Russian law. Nemkin said on Friday that YouTube needed to deal with abandoned equipment, settle outstanding fines, and establish a legal entity in Russia before the platform's functionality in the country can be fully restored. The MP also called on YouTube to restore access to blocked Russian accounts. The platform has removed some media outlets, including RT and Sputnik, and has repeatedly taken down channels run by Russian bloggers, journalists, and artists. Moscow says the removals target content that reflects views diverging from those prevalent in the West. 'Without these steps, it's impossible to speak of any 'easing' – this is not about politics, but legal compliance,' Nemkin said. In March, it was reported that Russian-registered Google LLC owed national broadcasters $1.16 quintillion in fines for failing to restore their YouTube channels. In January, RBK said the international Google corporation owed more than $22 undecillion. The Kremlin described the figures as symbolic, intended to pressure the company into complying with Russian law. Nemkin said dialogue with global platforms such as YouTube could only happen on Russia's terms. 'This is not about bans for the sake of bans, but about equal rights,' he said, adding that companies must comply with local laws, pay taxes, and store user data in Russia. The lawmaker called for an end to the era of unchecked power for major IT companies. If foreign platforms are restored, 'there is no going back to the old dependence.' 'We've learned a harsh but valuable lesson: we cannot build our digital future on platforms that can flip the switch at any moment,' he said, adding that YouTube should no longer serve as the foundation of Russia's internet landscape. Nemkin pointed out that Russia is now developing its own infrastructure – search engines, cloud storage, video hosting, and ad systems – in support of its 'digital sovereignty.'


Russia Today
28-05-2025
- Russia Today
Russia could target Berlin if German missiles hit Moscow – RT editor-in-chief
Russia would not rule out a direct strike on Berlin if German personnel help Ukraine target Moscow with German-supplied Taurus missiles, RT Editor-in-Chief Margarita Simonyan, has warned. DETAILS TO FOLLOW