A correction is in order.
Many in the press, myself included, misrepresented Hillary Clinton’s comments about Tulsi Gabbard. Clinton did not say specifically that Russia is “grooming” Gabbard for a third-party run. Clinton said more broadly that the Hawaii congresswoman is a “Russian asset.”
In an interview last week on David Plouffe’s podcast (start at the 27:57 mark), the former secretary of state alleged that Republicans have set their sights already on a 2020 Democratic contestant who they believe can be persuaded into running as a third-party candidate. Clinton’s theory is that such an individual would siphon votes away from the Democratic presidential nominee in the general election, benefiting President Trump greatly at the polls.
“They are also going to do third-party again, and I’m not making any predictions but I think they got their eye on somebody who is currently in the Democratic primary and are grooming her to be the third-party candidate,” she said on Oct. 17.
The “they” and “grooming” in Clinton’s statement are in reference to the GOP, not Russia, contrary to what I, the New York Times, CNN, Politico, and many others initially reported. Speaking for myself, this faulty reporting came from a misunderstanding of the much broader context of the Plouffe interview.
That said, Clinton still alleged, without evidence, that Gabbard is a “Russian asset.”
“She is a favorite of the Russians,” Clinton said of the combat veteran. “They have a bunch of sites and bots and other ways of supporting her so far.”
She then added in reference to the 2016 Green Party nominee, “That’s assuming Jill Stein will give it up, which she might not because she’s also a Russian asset. Yeah, she’s a Russian asset. Totally. They know they can’t win without a third-party candidate.”
Alleging that Stein “is also a Russian asset” is an indirect but unambiguous statement that Gabbard is a tool of the Kremlin.
Lastly, there is Clinton spokesman Nick Merrill, who was asked on Oct. 18 whether his boss was referring specifically to Gabbard when she said there is a 2020 Democratic candidate who is a “favorite of the Russians,” assuming Stein, who is “also a Russian asset,” will “give it up.”
His response: “If the nesting doll fits.”
“This is not some outlandish claim,” Merrill added. “This is reality. If the Russian propaganda machine, both their state media and their bot and troll operations, is backing a candidate aligned with their interests, that is just a reality, it is not speculation.”
The bottom line is this: Clinton did not say the Russians are “grooming” Gabbard for a third-party run. Newsrooms collectively got that wrong. Clinton said Republicans are “grooming” the congresswoman, which is obviously different from what was reported originally.
However, Clinton still accused the congresswoman of being a “Russian asset.” There is no getting around that. Reporters did not get that part wrong. They just messed up the quotes.
