‘She’s a Russian asset’: Trump picks a woman who spread Kremlin conspiracy theories as Director of National Intelligence

Just when America thought Donald Trump’s cabinet picks couldn’t get any more alarming, he selected Tulsi Gabbard, a woman who has been accused of being a Russian asset for spreading Kremlin-backed conspiracy theories, as Director of National Intelligence.

Trump began his cabinet selections by selecting Trump loyalists and those with hardline immigration stances for his border czar and Secretary of Homeland Security. As expected, he invented a ridiculous new role for Elon Musk and is believed to be eyeing vaccine conspiracy theorist Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. for a prominent public health role. However, things turned even stranger when Trump named Fox News host and veteran Pete Hegseth as Secretary of Defense. As a man most well-known as a Fox News personality, Hegseth appears to be the most unqualified nominee for Secretary of Defense in history. Yet, Trump managed to top that selection by announcing Gabbard as Director of National Intelligence. Of all his questionable nominations, Gabbard will almost certainly be the toughest to get through the Senate, given her history.

Why is Tulsi Gabbard called a Russian asset?

Following her appointment as Director of National Intelligence, many began referring to her as a “Russian asset.” There’s no evidence that she is connected to Russia, but her anti-interventionist stances and sympathy towards Russia have raised red flags and even led to her being called a traitor.

Gabbard is a military veteran who actually started her political career as a Democrat. She was a member of the Hawaii House of Representatives, served as Vice Chair of the Democratic National Committee, and launched a presidential campaign in 2020.

However, after her run for president, her views shifted towards the right, and she joined the Republican Party in 2022. In 2024, she endorsed Trump for president. During her run for president, her anti-interventionist attitude attracted the most attention. Her belief that the U.S. should stay out of foreign affairs isn’t wrong in itself, but her anti-interventionist stance has led her to seemingly sympathize with brutal regimes more than once. She was staunchly against U.S. intervention in the Syrian Civil War and stirred controversy in 2017 when she secretly traveled to Syria to meet with President Bashar al-Assad and initially refused to call him a war criminal.

Most recently, she has come under fire for her response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Two years ago, when the majority of political leaders were denouncing Russia’s invasion, Gabbard tried to rationalize Vladminir Putin’s actions and blame the U.S. for the incident. On social media, she wrote, “This war and suffering could have easily been avoided if [the Biden administration and] NATO had simply acknowledged Russia’s legitimate security concerns regarding Ukraine’s becoming a member of NATO.” She stirred further controversy when she began spreading Kremlin-backed conspiracy theories, including falsely claiming Ukraine was developing biological weapons with America’s assistance. Her comments have been widely condemned, with former Rep. Adam Kinzinger and Sen. Mitt Romney accusing her of “traitorous” actions for “parroting fake Russian propaganda.”

In 2019, Hillary Clinton insinuated that Russia was “grooming” Gabbard in its interests. She directed the comment at one female running in the Democratic primary, commenting, “She’s the favorite of the Russians.” At the time and today, it was widely believed she was referring to Gabbard, although she had no concrete evidence to back these claims. Gabbard herself once claimed that she was on a TSA terrorist watchlist. She bizarrely claimed she was on the list because of her criticism of Kamala Harris. However, if her claims are true, one can’t help but wonder if her stance on Russia is the actual reason for her inclusion.

Not only does Gabbard boast minimal experience that would qualify her for the role of Director of National Intelligence, but many believe it is a terrible idea to have a potential Russian sympathizer and conspiracy theorist who was allegedly put on a terrorist watchlist in charge of overseeing national security threats to the United States.