Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard drew a blistering rebuke Sunday from journalist Mehdi Hasan, who called her the most “pathetic” and “shameless” Trump administration official for repeatedly getting "humiliated by the very man she serves.”
A former Democrat, Gabbard has been on the outs of the Trump administration, with the White House frequently excluding her from briefings and Trump aides labeling her with the nickname “Do Not Inform,” a tongue-in-cheek reference to her title as DNI director.
“Even at her worst, I could at least respect that she seemed to be guided by a set of clear ideological convictions,” Hasan wrote in an op-ed published Sunday on Zeteo.
“What we’re left with now is something much grimmer: a political shapeshifter and sycophant so eager to curry Trump’s favor that she has abandoned every pretense of professional and ideological independence.”
Indeed, much of Gabbard’s previous statements and positions have been directly contradicted by the Trump administration, and without any meaningful response from Gabbard.
Gabbard publicly denounced those who stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6 as “criminals,” but stood silent as Trump issued them blanket pardons. She told Congress last year amid fears that the Trump administration would strike Iran that the Middle East nation was likely “not building a nuclear weapon,” only to reverse course and later claim that Iran was only weeks away from building a nuclear weapon.
Gabbard had also previously argued against U.S. military intervention in Venezuela, only to get caught vacationing in Hawaii during Trump’s attack on the South American nation last month after reportedly being left out of the operation’s planning process. She also remained silent on the attack in the days since.
“What is so pathetic is that we are barely a year into this administration and she has already humiliated herself – and been humiliated by the very man she serves,” Hasan wrote.
“Yet she continues to carry his water, to spin his narratives, to defend his baseless election claims, and to lend the prestige of her office to fake intelligence assessments. So I have to ask: does Tulsi Gabbard have any self-respect at all?”
