Democrat Tulsi Gabbard fends off ‘fake news’ accusations of Russian support
Democratic presidential hopeful Tulsi Gabbard’s anti-war stance has seen her slammed in the media for over-friendliness to Moscow. After this week’s hit piece the Hawaiian Congresswoman called these accusations “fake news.”
Speaking to ABC’s George Stephanopoulos on Sunday, Gabbard repeated several of her core foreign policy messages: Regime change operations are “counterproductive and wasteful,” and escalating military tension with Russia and China is a “dangerous” game for the US.
Rep. Tulsi Gabbard: "As president, I will end these counterproductive and wasteful regime change wars, work to end this new Cold War and nuclear arms race … and invest those resources on serving the needs of the American people" https://t.co/0ZyfCPNJz7pic.twitter.com/w9tFTeATDc
— This Week (@ThisWeekABC) May 19, 2019
A combat veteran and foreign-policy focused candidate, Gabbard launched her presidential campaign in January. From the outset she was lambasted by both parties and the mainstream media for meeting with Syrian leader Bashar Al-Assad, and was branded a “Putin puppet” for suggesting that the US improve relations with Russia, at a time when most of her party was consumed with ‘Russiagate’ hysteria.
Stephanopoulos kept the theme going on Sunday, pressing Gabbard on a recent Daily Beast article accusing her campaign of taking a shocking THREE donations from “Putin apologists,” and one from actress Susan Sarandon – who committed the mortal sin of supporting the Green Party’s Jill Stein in her 2016 election bid, and not Hillary Clinton, as the Hollywood consensus demanded.
Save for one returned contribution from a businessman involved in some unlicensed transactions, no donation mentioned by the Daily Beast amounted to more than $1,000.
Also on rt.com Trump must avoid ‘very stupid and costly war’ with Iran – Tulsi Gabbard"It's unfortunate you're citing that article, George, because it's a whole lot of fake news,” Gabbard responded. “What's in the best interest of national security? Keeping American people safe.”
"And what I'm pointing out consistently, time and time again, is our continued wasteful regime change wars have been counterproductive to the interests of the American people.”
The latest debacle was ridiculed by commentators on Twitter. Independent journalist Ben Norton called the Daily Beast’s article “embarrassingly bad,” while The Hill’s Krystal Ball blasted the Daily Beast's reporters for searching through 65,000 donors to find “3 with views that fit their pre-conceived narrative.”
This propaganda is embarrassingly bad. Neo-McCarthyite hacks are implying anti-war candidate @TulsiGabbard is a Kremlin shill. Their "evidence"? Donations from renowned scholar Stephen F. Cohen and from a US peace activist who doesn't want war with Russiahttps://t.co/FY1x7jfogi
— Ben Norton (@BenjaminNorton) May 17, 2019
Total bs fabricated smear of @TulsiGabbard Don’t buy it. She has more than 65,000 donors and they found 3 with views that fit their pre-conceived narrative. Tulsi has literally put her life on the line for our country. You may not like her views but she’s a patriot. Full stop. pic.twitter.com/xB43cwR8Hb
— Krystal Ball (@krystalball) May 17, 2019
Apparently this propaganda is what passes for reality at the Daily Beast. https://t.co/LLcpcmMDfW
— Lee Camp [Redacted] (@LeeCamp) May 17, 2019
Gabbard is currently polling at around one percent, in a crowded field of 24 Democratic candidates. As the mainstream media continues to fixate on her supposed sympathies for the Kremlin, the Hawaiian has stuck to her guns. On Thursday, Gabbard warned President Donald Trump against “launching a very stupid and costly war with Iran,” and called out “war hawks in his administration” like National Security Advisor John Bolton, for leading the US towards another conflict in the Middle East.
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