Democratic presidential candidate Tulsi Gabbard was recently attacked by former presidential candidate Hillary Clinton for being groomed by Russia. The comments drew criticism from across the political spectrum , including fellow Democratic presidential candidates Andrew Yang, Marianne Williamson, and Beto O’Rourke, as well as President Donald Trump. Independent Justin Amash took things a step further and suggested that Clinton is a Trump asset.
Per Fox News , a new video posted to social media Sunday shows Gabbard on the attack claiming that Clinton’s remarks – as well as the “countless hit pieces” against her — were payback for Gabbard leaving the Democratic National Committee (DNC) and supporting Sanders instead of the former Secretary of State.
“If they can falsely portray me as a traitor, then they can do it to anyone — and in fact, that’s exactly the message they want to get across to you. If you stand up to Hillary and the party power brokers — if you stand up to the rich and powerful elite and the war machine, they will destroy you and discredit your message. But, here is the truth: They will not intimidate us. They will not silence us.”
CNN political commentator Van Jones recently expressed his belief that what Clinton is playing is a “very dangerous game,” highlighting that Gabbard was previously going to be the DNC’s “golden girl” before she resigned after what she perceived as bias against Sanders during the 2016 primary.
Nina Turner, National Co-Chair of Sanders’ campaign, also spoke out in support of Gabbard.
“Four words: Keep. Your. Head. Up!” she tweeted early Saturday morning.
Former President George W. Bush’s deputy chief of staff, Karl Rove, also spoke out on the situation and told Clinton to provide the evidence for her statements. In particular, he said she needs to present evidence that Russian bots are bolstering Gabbard on social media platforms, as well as evidence to back her other assertion that Jill Stein’s 2016 candidacy was supported by Russia.
Per USA Today , emails released in 2016 via WikiLeaks revealed DNC officials criticizing Sanders’ campaign. According to Gabbard, there was a concerted effort to prevent Sanders from winning in favor of Clinton, which is why she resigned from her position on the committee and supported the Vermont Senator.
Clinton has been in the media spotlight in recent weeks, but not always for the better. American journalist Ronan Farrow’s new book, Catch and Kill , suggested that Clinton pressured him to kill his Harvey Weinstein story that would expose his alleged abuse of women in Hollywood, per The Hollywood Reporter .