‘Perfect RT talking head’: Kremlin propaganda outlet influenced Gabbard’s views, ex-aides
Tulsi Gabbard, Donald Trump’s pick to oversee the entire U.S. Intelligence Community, was reportedly influenced by the Kremlin-funded media outlet RT, according to an ABC News report citing her former aides. The sentiment may be mutual, as Russia’s propaganda networks have shown an affinity for Gabbard, the ex-Democratic Congresswoman who has recently become a MAGA Republican and vocal supporter of the President-elect.
"Three former aides said Gabbard, who left the Democratic Party in 2022, regularly read and shared articles from the Russian news site RT ... which the U.S. intelligence community characterized in 2017 as 'the Kremlin's principal international propaganda outlet.'"
Gabbard continued these practices "long after" she was advised RT was not a credible source, according to one aide.
ABC News, noting some on the left have suggested Gabbard might be "compromised," describes her "posture" on Russia as "rosy."
The Daily Beast reports that "Rep. Jason Crow said there are 'deep questions about where her loyalties lie,' and Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, without offering evidence, claimed Gabbard is 'likely a Russian asset.' Gabbard has repeatedly denied such claims."
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Gabbard's aides, according to ABC, say she regularly read and shared articles from RT, formerly called Russia Today. The media outlet has been banned in parts of the world, including by the European Union.
In September, the U.S. State Department alleged RT had been engaging in "covert influence activities," and had "engaged in information operations, covert influence, and military procurement."
ABC News added that the U.S. Department of Justice had "also indicted two RT employees in September for their alleged role in what the DOJ called a scheme to pay right-wing social media influencers nearly $10 million to 'disseminate content deemed favorable to the Russian government.'"
At least one expert says Gabbard's alleged decision to continue to rely on RT is problematic.
"That Gabbard's views mirror Russia's narrative and disinformation themes can but suggest naïveté, collusion, or politically opportunistic sycophancy to echo whatever she believes Trump wants to hear," Doug London, a retired 34-year veteran intelligence officer told ABC News. He added, "none of which bodes well for the president's principal intelligence adviser responsible for enabling the [U.S. intelligence community] to inform decision-making by telling it like it is."
But for years some have suggested Gabbard has an apparent affinity for Russian propaganda and for the Russian propaganda outlet—and that it was not just a one-way street.
The New York Times last month described Gabbard as "a favorite source of anti-American content on Russia’s state television networks" and "a darling of the Kremlin’s vast state media apparatus — and, more recently, of President-elect Donald J. Trump, who last week picked her to oversee the nation’s 18 intelligence agencies and departments."
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Vladimir Solovyov, a popular [Russian] talk show host, called her 'our girlfriend' in a segment in 2022. The program included an interview Ms. Gabbard did with Tucker Carlson in which she claimed that Mr. Biden’s goal was to end Mr. Putin’s control of the Russian government, according to Julia Davis, the creator of the Russian Media Monitor, which tracks Kremlin propaganda."
"Trump's pick for top intel job has been accused of 'traitorous' parroting of Russian propaganda," NBC News reported last month. "Tulsi Gabbard, who has never worked in the intelligence world, has denied accusations that she promoted Kremlin disinformation."
CNN's Marshall Cohen, who covers "major legal cases and Congressional investigations, often with a focus on democracy, elections and disinformation," made several observations on February 21, 2020 in this social media thread (which includes links to RT that NCRM is not republishing):
"It is staggering how Trump's tweets mirror the propaganda coming from Russia, as presented on RT, which I've monitored for years. (1) attacks corporate ties of US media, (2) defends Gabbard and Stein, (3) denies Russian meddling in US politics, (4) says US elections are 'rigged.'"
"There is so much on Tulsi Gabbard that she has her own page on the RT website. Dozens of friendly stories, focusing intently on her lawsuit against Clinton, highlighting stories about her supporters getting harassed, etc."
"...there are tons of examples of RT denying Russian meddling in 2016. RT is controlled by the Russian government, after all. It's the party line."
And he offered "an example of RT stoking fears and amplifying content about how US elections are potentially rigged," pointing to an article that "was posted a few weeks before the 2016 election."
Dr. Caroline Orr Bueno is a "postdoctoral research associate, writer, and internationally recognized expert in the study of cognitive security, disinformation, weaponized influence, extremism, and social media manipulation," according to her bio.
In 2019 she wrote, "Russian propaganda outlet RT has published at least 6 articles about Tulsi Gabbard in the past two days. Ironically, several of them are mocking the idea that she's a Russian asset."
And just last month, Juan Forero, the Wall Street Journal's Bureau Chief for South America, wrote: "Tulsi Gabbard, who could direct national intelligence, has been perfect RT talking head. When she visited Syrian strongman Bashar Al-Assad, her real value was not what she said about him, but the fabrications she told the world about the Syrian conflict."
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