Tulsi Gabbard
Former U.S. Representative (D-HI) · 2013–2021
Tulsi Gabbard was elected to Congress as a Democrat from Hawaii in 2012. She ran for president in 2020 on a platform that included universal healthcare and ending "regime change wars." She was the first Hindu elected to Congress. She had progressive credentials and a genuine political identity.
Then she started appearing on Tucker Carlson's show. Regularly. She began amplifying Russian talking points about U.S. involvement in Syria, referred to Syrian chemical weapons victims as "so-called" attack victims, and met with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Hillary Clinton called her a "Russian asset" in 2019. Gabbard sued for defamation.
In 2022 she left the Democratic Party. In 2024 she endorsed Trump. He rewarded her with the Director of National Intelligence position — the official who oversees all 18 U.S. intelligence agencies and receives the President's Daily Brief. She now controls the most sensitive intelligence in the American government. She has no intelligence background. She does have a history of repeating foreign adversary talking points on cable television.
Gabbard makes repeated trips to Syria and meets with President Bashar al-Assad — a dictator who used chemical weapons against his own civilian population. She describes the meetings as fact-finding and argues the U.S. should not pursue regime change. She dismisses documented chemical weapon attacks as unproven.
Hillary Clinton, in a podcast interview, refers to Gabbard as a 'favorite of the Russians' being 'groomed' for a third-party candidacy to help Trump. Gabbard sues Clinton for defamation. The lawsuit is eventually dismissed.
Gabbard formally leaves the Democratic Party, calling it an 'elitist cabal of warmongers.' She announces on her podcast, which she co-hosts with a producer who previously worked at RT — Russia's state media outlet.
The Senate confirms Gabbard as Director of National Intelligence 52-48. She now oversees all 18 U.S. intelligence agencies. Intelligence community veterans — across both parties — publicly express alarm about her qualifications and her history of repeating adversary narratives.