President-elect Donald Trump has been busy assembling a Rogue’s Gallery of Cabinet picks that would make The Joker himself flee in terror. While his appointees range from terrible to truly villainous, Trump’s choice for Director of National Intelligence has been particularly … noteworthy. Who could instill such terror and dismay? None than Democrat-turned-Independent-turned-Republican Tulsi Gabbard.
Even Fox News host Laura Ingraham seemed to lambast Trump’s choice. Ingraham’s exact words were “Tulsi Gabbard as Director of National Intelligence? You’d think Trump had given it to Putin himself.” While this may seem as though Ingraham is critiquing Trump’s cabinet pick, the full context provides a different picture. While the viral clip of Ingraham saying those words is real, it was part of a larger segment in which the Fox News host appeared to be criticizing and even making fun of the Democrats and the media’s (justifiably) worried response to Trump’s choices.
Ingraham may or may not agree with Trump’s decision to appoint Tulsi Gabbard, but there’s plenty of evidence to justify the media’s and the Democrats’ concern.
Regarding the Director of National Intelligence, the only worse pick that Trump could have made would have been Vladimir Putin in Groucho glasses. Tulsi Gabbard has a bad habit of disseminating Russian disinformation as fact. Two years ago, she took to social media to warn that the United States was building “biolabs” in Ukraine. What she didn’t realize was that she was spreading Russian propaganda that claimed the U.S. was developing biological weapons in the area.
U.S. government officials were quick to condemn Gabbard’s statements, with then-Rep. Adam Kinzinger, R-Ill going so far as to call them “traitorous.” After sending a cease and desist letter to Mitt Romney, who criticized her for “parroting fake Russian propaganda,” she then claimed that “powerful, influential people” in Washington were trying to “censor” her in a post on social media. To be fair to Gabbard, she was right. People were trying to cover for her, but only so she would stop acting as a witless pawn in a Russian disinformation campaign.
The intelligence community went into an uproar following Gabbard’s nomination. Former CIA case officer Rep. Abigail Spanberger wrote on X (formerly Twitter) that she was “appalled” by the decision, calling Gabbard “ill-prepared and unqualified.”
That’s an understatement. Gabbard has absolutely zero qualifications for the position. Aside from a two-year stint in the House Committee on Homeland Security, Gabbard has never been in intelligence or held office in any intelligence agency. As far as Trump’s nominations go, she’s likely the least prepared for the job, even when considering that Trump’s Cabinet picks also include an Attorney General who was under investigation for sex trafficking by the organization he’s slated to lead.
Spanberger also criticized Gabbard as someone who “traffics in conspiracy theories and cozies up to dictators like Bashar-al Assad and Vladimir Putin.” When it comes to rubbing shoulders with autocrats, Gabbard is seemingly following in the footsteps of the wannabe dictator who nominated her.
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio Cortez expressed a similar reproof, calling Gabbard’s appointment a “pro-war nomination globally.” It’s a fair assessment. Despite the death toll in Gaza climbing past 43,000, most of whom are women and children, Gabbard has fully backed Israel’s war effort and does not appear to support a ceasefire. She also criticized Barak Obama for supporting a Syrian opposition movement against the nation’s president Bashar-al-Assad, who cracked down on peaceful protests with violence. After meeting al-Assad on a secret trip to Syria, Gabbard told CNN that she did not support U.S. aid to the nation. “Let the Syrian people themselves determine their future,” she said. They’re trying, Gabbard, and their government is killing them for it.
The Kremlin, meanwhile, is likely thrilled about Gabbard’s nomination. Less than a month after she announced her ill-fated presidential campaign in 2020, three Moscow-based websites affiliated with the Russian government celebrated her candidacy. I’m sure those same people are popping champagne as we speak.
Published: Nov 16, 2024 05:58 am