Utah independent Evan McMullin denounced former Rep. Tulsi Gabbard as a “Putin apologist” on Thursday just hours before the ex-Democrat is slated to appear alongside Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) at a campaign rally in the Beehive State.
McMullin decried Gabbard as an appeaser of foreign dictatorships, accusing the former Hawaii representative of spreading disinformation about Russian President Vladimir Putin amid the country’s invasion of Ukraine. His comments come as Gabbard, a onetime Democrat who announced she would be leaving the party earlier this month, is scheduled to campaign for Lee in Utah as he seeks a third term in office.
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“Tulsi Gabbard is most known for her cozy relationship with Vladimir Putin. Senator Lee inviting her here to Utah as Putin commits unspeakable atrocities in Ukraine is a terrible mistake,” McMullin said in a statement released by his campaign. “It is either purposive or dangerously ignorant. Either way, he is unfit to serve as Utah’s senator. Actions from officials like Tulsi Gabbard and Mike Lee threaten America at home and abroad.”
McMullin further criticized Lee, pointing to the senator’s voting record against Russian sanctions and against providing military assistance to Ukraine as it fends off an invasion from the Russian military. The independent candidate has leaned on Russia as a frequent attack throughout the midterm cycle, seeking to paint Lee as a Russian ally who is the only member of Utah’s congressional delegation not to be blacklisted by Putin’s regime.
Lee’s campaign pushed back against those claims, accusing McMullin of airing false claims in TV ads seeking to portray the Republican senator as pro-Russia and anti-Ukraine.
In one such ad, McMullin denounces Lee as being one of two senators to “oppose sanctions on Putin” and flying to Russia in 2019 to discuss relaxing sanctions against Putin’s regime. However, the ad has been deemed misleading by independent fact-checkers because Lee’s votes against Russian sanctions occurred in 2017, five years before Russia invaded Ukraine.
Lee also pointed out during a debate last week that he had visited Russia at the invitation of then-U.S. Ambassador to Russia Jon Huntsman Jr., who served as Utah’s governor from 2005 to 2009.
Lee announced Gabbard would be campaigning alongside him earlier this week, lauding the ex-Democrat for her support and efforts to “put our nation back on the path to prosperity.”
“Tulsi Gabbard left the Democrat Party because its foreign and economic policies have failed America’s hardworking families,” Lee said in a tweet promoting the event. “I’m honored to have her support. Come hear how we are working across party lines to retake the Senate.”
Gabbard has campaigned for several Republican candidates in recent weeks after garnering national headlines for exiting the Democratic Party, denouncing lawmakers on the Left for promoting policies that “[racialize] every issue & stoke anti-white racism.”
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Gabbard, a one-time presidential hopeful for the Democratic Party, retired from the House in 2021. Since then, the former Hawaii representative has been publicly critical of the party, particularly toward President Joe Biden.
“I believe in a government that is of, by, and for the people. Unfortunately, today’s Democratic Party does not. Instead, it stands for a government of, by, and for the powerful elite,” Gabbard said in a video announcement on Oct. 11. “I’m calling on my fellow commonsense independent-minded Democrats to join me in leaving the Democratic Party.”
