CNN viewers learned how to say "useful idiot" in Russian Thursday as a Republican tried to defend a controversial Cabinet pick by the president-elect — and a Democratic strategist slapped back.
Trump's decision to pick former Rep. Tulsi Gabbard to lead the nation's intelligence agencies had conservative adviser Brad Todd scrambling to characterize concerns raised by former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley as overblown.
"That's good for ratings to be controversial," Todd argued. "I suspect that's what's going on."
Haley Wednesday on her Sirius XM radio show said she found Gabbard's expressed support of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to be "disgusting" considering he is accused of deploying chemical warfare against his own citizens, among them children who died horrific deaths.
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"She said she was skeptical that he was behind the chemical weapons attacks," Haley told listeners. "Now this to me is disgusting."
Haley accused Gabbard of parroting Russian propaganda, as have insiders within the intelligence community who say they are "reeling" at the prospect of her gaining access to the nation's most secret security programs.
Democratic strategist Julie Roginsky on Thursday told Todd she understood the concerns and hit hard at the notion that Haley had been chasing ratings.
"If she wanted ratings she'd go full MAGA like Tucker Carlson and other people who used to have, you know, some sort of independent mind," Roginsky said. "Tulsi Gabbard has been a bigger concern to me than this other clown car of a nominating contest."
Roginsky argued this distinction was made only more alarming by the other members of Trump's desired Cabinet.
"She's competing with people like Matt Gaetz and Pete Hegseth, so I don't say that lightly," Roginsky said. "But Tulsi Gabbard effectively parrots pro-Russian talking points." Gaetz withdrew his nomination shortly after she spoke.
UPDATE: Matt Gaetz withdraws as Trump's nominee for attorney general
Roginsky then told viewers she was a fluent Russian speaker who watched the nation's television and had heard Gabbard repeat its government's talking points.
"I'm not saying that she's a Russian asset, I'm saying that she's what the Russians would call a polezny durak, which is a useful idiot," Roginsky said.
"That's exactly what she is, because all she does is completely parrot every single thing that Vladimir Putin has said about the United States."
