Tulsi Gabbard’s Russia Lies, Exposed

Summary

Podcast Summary: Bulwark Takes – "Tulsi Gabbard’s Russia Lies, Exposed"

Episode Overview

In the July 22, 2025 episode of Bulwark Takes, host Will Saletan delves into the controversial appointment of Tulsi Gabbard as the Director of National Intelligence (DNI). Saletan critically examines Gabbard’s qualifications, her history of statements regarding Russia's involvement in U.S. affairs, and her recent actions in her DNI role that purportedly defend Russian interests while undermining American intelligence integrity.

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1. Introduction to Tulsi Gabbard’s Appointment as DNI

Will Saletan opens the discussion by questioning the suitability of Tulsi Gabbard for the role of DNI. He asserts that Gabbard lacks the necessary experience and qualifications for such a pivotal position within the U.S. intelligence community.

“She's in this job. She's completely unqualified for it in terms of her experience. So why is she in this job? And the answer is, Donald Trump put her in this job because he doesn't trust the American intelligence community...”
[00:00]

Saletan suggests that Gabbard’s appointment is a strategic move by former President Donald Trump to exert control over intelligence agencies and safeguard his interests, revealing a deeper agenda behind her placement.

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2. Gabbard’s Historical Stance on Russia and Ukraine

Saletan traces Gabbard’s longstanding pattern of exonerating Russia regarding its actions in the 2016 U.S. election interference and the 2022 invasion of Ukraine. He highlights her attempts to shift blame onto the United States and NATO, portraying Russia’s actions as justified responses to Western policies.

“It could have been avoided if President Biden and NATO had done exactly what you were just talking about... something that is a legitimate security concern for Russia.”
[01:01]

Gabbard argues that U.S. and NATO policies provoked Russian aggression, thereby minimizing Russia’s culpability in initiating conflicts.

“Our leaders are saying, well, hey, we can't do anything. This is all in Putin's hands. Well, guess what? The United States, our leaders, and European leaders are the ones fueling and funding this war.”
[01:31]

These statements reflect Gabbard's narrative that shifts responsibility for geopolitical tensions away from Russia, aligning with pro-Russian talking points.

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3. Gabbard’s Recent Claims as Director of National Intelligence

In her role as DNI, Gabbard has issued reports challenging the established intelligence assessments of Russian interference in the 2016 presidential elections. Saletan vehemently disputes her assertions, labeling them as deceptive and unfounded.

“The intelligence community assessed essentially Russia doesn't have the tools, the capability or the intent to try to change the outcome of the US Presidential election.”
[02:58]

Saletan counters this by clarifying the original intelligence consensus that Russia did attempt to influence the election through various means, including hacking and propaganda.

“That is an absolute lie. The intelligence community never said Russia didn't try to change the outcome of the election. It said Russia did try.”
[03:10]

Gabbard further propagates misinformation by misrepresenting intelligence documents to suggest that Russia’s interference was non-existent, thereby undermining the credibility of U.S. intelligence agencies.

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4. Analysis of Gabbard’s Deceptive Tactics

Saletan dissects Gabbard’s strategy of taking partial truths and distorting them into misleading narratives. He argues that her selective use of intelligence data serves to falsely absolve Russia of any wrongdoing.

“She takes intelligence documents that said Russia didn't hack directly into our vote counting systems. And then she uses that to imply that Russia didn't interfere in our election at all, which is totally bogus...”
[01:41]

Saletan references Kathy Young’s comprehensive critique within The Bulwark that thoroughly debunks Gabbard’s claims, emphasizing the abundance of evidence supporting Russia’s active interference through various channels beyond vote counting system hacks.

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5. The Broader Implications of Gabbard’s Actions

Beyond protecting Trump, Saletan contends that Gabbard’s actions as DNI also serve to shield Vladimir Putin and Russia from accountability. By spreading false narratives about intelligence findings, she fosters a climate of distrust towards American intelligence institutions.

“When Gabbard spreads this lie, she's not just protecting Trump, she's protecting Russia. She's saying Russia was innocent.”
[03:38]

Additionally, Saletan points out that Gabbard attributes increased U.S.-Russia tensions to the politicization of intelligence under President Obama, further shifting blame away from Russia.

“We had heightened and increased tensions between the United States and Russia... about the consequences of President Obama and his senior cabinet members politicizing intelligence.”
[05:24]

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6. Conclusion: The Impact on American Intelligence and Governance

Will Saletan concludes by asserting that Tulsi Gabbard's tenure as DNI represents a significant threat to the integrity of American intelligence and governmental operations. He warns that her persistent defense of Russia and undermining of U.S. intelligence efforts are acts of sabotage against national security.

“She's using her position as director of National Intelligence to sabotage our own government.”
[05:38]

Saletan emphasizes the detrimental effects of Gabbard’s actions on both the credibility of U.S. intelligence agencies and the broader geopolitical stance of the United States.

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Final Thoughts

This episode of Bulwark Takes provides a critical examination of Tulsi Gabbard's role and statements concerning Russia's involvement in U.S. political affairs. Through detailed analysis and pointed quotes, Will Saletan underscores the perceived dangers of Gabbard’s influence within the intelligence community, presenting a compelling argument against her qualifications and intentions as the Director of National Intelligence.

Transcript

[Will Saletan]

Hey, it's Will Saletan from the Bulwark. I want to talk to you today about Tulsi Gabbard, the Director of National Intelligence. Okay? She's in this job. She's completely unqualified for it in terms of her experience. So why is she in this job? And the answer is, Donald Trump put her in this job because he doesn't trust the American intelligence community, because the intel community reported that Russia interfered in our 2016 election to help Trump. So Gabbard is in this job. She's been put there to control the intelligence agencies and to protect Trump. But she also has a second person that she's trying to protect, and that is Vladimir Putin, the dictator of Russia. So Gabbard has a long record of trying to exonerate Russia for the 2016 election and for Russia's invasion of Ukraine, and that is what she's doing now. Let me show you what I'm talking about. First, here is what Gabbard said. Three years ago, when Russia invaded Ukraine.

[Tulsi Gabbard]

It could have been avoided if President Biden and NATO had done exactly what you were just talking about in agreeing, hey, we're going to take NATO off the table for Ukraine. Something that both the US And NATO have agreed is not likely to ever happen, and something that is a legitimate security concern for Russia.

[Will Saletan]

See, it's our fault. Russia had these legitimate concerns, and that is why they had to attack Ukraine. And then here's what Gabbard said later that year.

[Tulsi Gabbard]

Our leaders are saying, well, hey, we can't do anything. This is all in Putin's hands. Well, guess what? The United States, our leaders, and European leaders are the ones fueling and funding this war.

[Will Saletan]

You get the picture. Gabbard was just repeating Russian talking points. Okay, so fast forward to this week. Gabbard is now the dni, the Director of National Intelligence, and she puts out a report claiming that in 2017, when our intelligence community published an assessment that Russia interfered in our 2016 election to help Trump, that assessment was manufactured. And Gabbard keeps using this word, manufactured, to imply that we fabricated it. Gabbard's report is a total scam. Her trick is she takes intelligence documents that said Russia didn't hack directly into our vote counting systems. And then she uses that to imply that Russia didn't interfere in our election at all, which is totally bogus, because there's tons of evidence that Russia did interfere by hacking into other systems, like Hillary Clinton's campaign and the Democratic National Committee. And also, Russia was spreading propaganda on our social media to affect the election. Kathy Young has a fantastic piece in the Bulwark where she absolutely demolishes Gabbard on exactly this point. But I want to show you something else. Watch what Gabbard said this weekend on Fox and Friends about the intelligence.

[Tulsi Gabbard]

The intelligence community assessed essentially Russia doesn't have the tools, the capability or the intent to try to change the outcome of the US Presidential election.

[Will Saletan]

That is an absolute lie. The intelligence community never said Russia didn't try to change the outcome of the election. It said Russia did try. Now watch Gabbard on another Fox show, Sunday Morning Futures.

[Tulsi Gabbard]

The evidence showed the intelligence showed that again, Russia did not have either the intent nor the capability to be able to impact the outcome of the United States election.

[Will Saletan]

A again, an absolute lie. Russia did try to impact the outcome. So you might ask, when Gabbard takes a small truth, which is that Russia didn't change the outcome of our election by hacking into voting systems, and then she inflates it into a big lie that Russia didn't try to change the outcome of our election at all. Is she just being careless? But the thing is, Gabbard keeps making that move again and again and again. Here's another part of what she said on the Sunday morning show.

[Tulsi Gabbard]

Another document was produced by the intelligence community, a President's Daily brief that was consistent with every other assessment that was done previously leading up to the election. Russia was not. Did not, this is after the election now. Did not attempt to affect the outcome of of the American election.

[Will Saletan]

Again, that statement that American intelligence said Russia did not attempt to affect the outcome of the election is a big fat lie. And then watch what Gabbard does when Sean Hannity says this. So you had career intel people that came to a conclusion that in fact Russia did not interfere. That had had no impact. Did you catch that? Hannity says American intel people concluded that Russia did not interfere in the election. And Gabbard nods. And here's the thing. When Gabbard spreads this lie, she's not just protecting Trump, she's protecting Russia. She's saying Russia was innocent. And she says that by falsely accusing Russia, our president at the time, Barack Obama and his intelligence officials caused the resulting tensions with Russia. Watch.

[Tulsi Gabbard]

We had heightened and increased tensions between the United States and Russia. The list goes on and on about the consequences of President Obama and his senior cabinet members politicizing intelligence.

[Will Saletan]

This is the same game Tulsi Gabbard has been playing for years. Defend Russia and blame America. She's using her position as director of National Intelligence to sabotage our own government. See you next time.