Tucker Carlson, a former host of Fox News, claimed that any Republican senator who opposes President-elect Donald Trump’s choice of former Democratic Representative Tulsi Gabbard to be the director of national intelligence is an “enemy” of the United States.
The media magnate delivered his comments at a Turning Point USA convention in Phoenix, along with the president-elect’s son, Donald Trump Jr., and former top Trump adviser Steve Bannon.
Carlson, a longtime supporter of Gabbard, recently caused a stir when he spoke with far-left economist Jeffrey Sachs about Israel and Syria. Carlson challenged the dominant narrative in his interview with Sachs earlier this week, posing, “Why am I required to hate Assad?”
“Tulsi Gabbard went and met with Assad. She’s been attacked ever since. Has anyone ever explained why Americans should hate Assad?” Carlson asked of Sachs, the latter of whom spent much of the interview attacking U.S. intelligence agencies.
Carlson told the crowd of young event attendees in Arizona, “She served in the U.S. military for 20 years. So, by the way, if she was a foreign agent, how exactly was she carrying a gun in the U.S. military? It’s absurd.”
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“You will know who’s on which side by the reaction of Tulsi Gabbard. If there are Republican senators who are voting against Tulsi Gabbard confirmation, then either in the Intel committee or in the open Senate, you will know that person is not only my enemy as someone who voted for change, for openness, for transparency, for an end to corruption, for draining of the swamp,” Carlson said. “You know, that person is an enemy of the United States. Period.”
“It’s really that simple. And you will get the same story. It’s national security. We can’t let our enemies know. We can’t trust Tulsi Gabbard. No, we can’t trust you,” Carlson concluded.
Gabbard, who is still serving in the Army Reserve as a lieutenant colonel, has deployed to Iraq and Kuwait.
