Several 2020 Democratic candidates have defended Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-Hawaii) after Hillary Clinton implied in an interview this week that Gabbard, who is running for president, is a favorite of the Russians.
Candidates Marianne Williamson and Andrew Yang have taken to Twitter to show their support for the Hawaii representative, saying that she deserves more respect.
“Tulsi Gabbard deserves much more respect and thanks than this. She literally just got back from serving our country abroad,” Yang wrote.
Tulsi Gabbard deserves much more respect and thanks than this. She literally just got back from serving our country abroad.
— Andrew Yang
(@AndrewYang) October 19, 2019
Williamson said, “The Democratic establishment has got to stop smearing women it finds inconvenient! The character assassination of women who dont toe the party line will backfire. Stay strong @TulsiGabbard. You deserve respect and you have mine.”
The Democratic establishment has got to stop smearing women it finds inconvenient! The character assassination of women who dont toe the party line will backfire. Stay strong @TulsiGabbard. You deserve respect and you have mine.
— Marianne Williamson (@marwilliamson) October 19, 2019
In recent days, Gabbard has gained attention after Clinton implied that Republicans have “got their eye on somebody who is currently in the Democratic primary and are grooming her to be the third-party candidate,” without explicitly identifying the Congress member, during a podcast appearance on Campaign HQ hosted by David Plouffe.
“She is a favorite of the Russians. They have a bunch of sites and bots and other ways of supporting her so far. Thats assuming Jill Stein will give it up, which she might not because she is also a Russian asset,” Clinton said, without referring to Gabbard by name.
“They know they cant win without a third-party candidate, and so I do not know who its going to be, but I can guarantee you, they will have a vigorous third-party challenge in the key states that they most need it.”
Gabbard pushed back at the accusation while calling Clinton a “queen of warmongers” in a Twitter post on Oct. 18.
“Great! Thank you, @HillaryClinton. You, the queen of warmongers, embodiment of corruption, and personification of the rot that has sickened the Democratic Party for so long, have finally come out from behind the curtain,” Gabbard wrote.
“From the day I announced my candidacy, there has been a concerted campaign to destroy my reputation. We wondered who was behind it and why. Now we know—it was always you, through your proxies and powerful allies in the corporate media and war machine, afraid of the threat I pose.
“Its now clear that this primary is between you and me. Dont cowardly hide behind your proxies. Join the race directly.”
During an appearance Oct. 18 on Fox News Tucker Carlson Tonight, Gabbard said she believes Clinton is targeting her because “ultimately [Clinton] knows that she cant control me” if the lawmaker is elected president.
“The reason why shes doing this is ultimately she knows that she cant control me. That I stand against everything that she represents. And that, if Im elected president, if Im the Democratic nominee and elected president, that she wont be able to control me, she wont be able to manipulate me. She wont be able to continue to work from behind the curtain to continue these regime change wars that have been so costly,” Gabbard told Carlson.
That comes after The New York Times and CNN accused Gabbard of being a Russian asset and an Assad apologist. Gabbard hit back at the media outlets during the Democratic debate on Oct. 15, saying that they were smRead More – Source
