Tulsi Gabbard Calls Out CNN For ‘Completely Despicable’ Lies During CNN-Hosted Debate

By
Jordan Riddle
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Democratic Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard was not given much time to speak during the fourth Democratic presidential debate on Tuesday night but in her limited limelight she was able to expose South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg’s naivety on the ongoing military engagements the United States has in the Middle East; she repeatedly called out and challenged new frontrunner Elizabeth Warren on her legislative record and her qualifications to be president and showcased what it means to stand up to opponents in mainstream media.

During the debate, the CNN moderator Anderson Cooper asked Gabbard to clarify her policy position that the United States should not be fighting in “regime change wars” in Syria and throughout the Middle East.

The Hawaiian Congresswoman criticized President Trump for his decision to abruptly pull troops out of Northern Syria but said blame ought to be laid at the feet of members of both political parties and mainstream media for their own failures to stop “regime change wars.”

“Well, first of all, we’ve got to understand the reality of the situation there, which is that the slaughter of the Kurds being done by Turkey is yet another negative consequence of the regime change war that we’ve been waging in Syria,” she said per BizPac Review.

“Donald Trump has the blood of the Kurds on his hand, but so do many of the politicians in our country from both parties who have supported this ongoing regime-change war in Syria that started in 2011, along with many in the mainstream media, who have been championing and cheerleading this regime-change war,” Gabbard continued.

She also took time in her answer to call out CNN, the host of the debate, for “completely despicable” news and conspiracies they have peddled about her regarding her belief the U.S. should not be endlessly fighting.

Gabbard pointed to specific examples—one of which occurred the Tuesday morning before the debate—of CNN referring to her as an “asset” or “puppet” helping Russia.

BizPac Review reports Gabbard claimed CNN “smeared veterans like myself for calling for an end to this regime-change war,” as she has called for pulling the United States out of Syria and other countries in the Middle East.”This morning, a CNN commentator said on national television that I’m an asset of Russia,” Gabbard said. “Completely despicable.”

Watch:

BizPac Review reports the comment was in reference to CNN’s Bakari Sellers and a panel he hosted on Tuesday morning. From the report:

CNN’s Bakari Sellers, who last year said that rapper Kanye West’s support for the president is an example of “what happens when Negroes don’t read,” followed suit with his own smear a couple of days later.

“[T]here is a chance that Tulsi is not just working for the United States of America. … I firmly believe that Tulsi Gabbard stands on that stage and is the antithesis to what the other 11 individuals stand for, especially when it comes to issues such as foreign policy,” he said during a discussion Tuesday morning with Alisyn Camerota and April Ryan.

“There is no question, there is no question that Tulsi Gabbard, of all the 12, is a puppet for the Russian government,” he added.

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These sorts of hyperbolic, fact-free smears are what count as “journalism” these days, apparently. Just to be clear, Gabbard is a combat veteran who earned over a dozen decorations and badges while deployed overseas. Sellers is not.