Presidential candidate Tulsi Gabbard accused President Trump of governing as if the United States is “Saudi Arabia’s bitch” over his response to an attack in the Middle East.
On Saturday, there were coordinated strikes against key Saudi Arabian oil facilities and those attacks disrupted 5% of the daily global supply. Yemeni Houthi rebels accepted responsibility for the attack, according to CNN. The rebels have ties to Iran.
Saudi Arabia oil supply was attacked. There is reason to believe that we know the culprit, are locked and loaded depending on verification, but are waiting to hear from the Kingdom as to who they believe was the cause of this attack, and under what terms we would proceed!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 15, 2019
In response to the attack, Trump tweeted that the U.S. has “reason to believe that we know” who perpetrated the attack, while adding that the government is “locked and loaded depending on verification.”
“Trump awaits instructions from his Saudi masters,” Gabbard wrote on social media Sunday night. “Having our country act as Saudi Arabia’s bitch is not ‘America First.'”
Trump awaits instructions from his Saudi masters. Having our country act as Saudi Arabia’s bitch is not “America First.” https://t.co/kJOCpqwaQS
— Tulsi Gabbard (@TulsiGabbard) September 16, 2019
Marc Short, the vice president’s chief of staff, told reporters Monday morning, “There’s no doubt that Iran has been a malign actor on the stage here and has been supporting the Houthi rebels in Yemen, but I think there’s certainly greater evidence that he’ll be sharing that directly ties these attacks to Iran.”
He also said that Trump’s rhetoric on being “locked and loaded” does not necessarily refer to military action.
This was not the first time Gabbard threw this characterization at the president. Last November, she tweeted the same message and that was in response to the U.S. response to the murder of Jamal Khashoggi.
Hey @realdonaldtrump: being Saudi Arabia’s bitch is not “America First.”
— Tulsi Gabbard (@TulsiGabbard) November 21, 2018
The 37-year-old Hawaii congresswoman has a tenuous relationship with Middle Eastern politics. Back in January 2017, she secretly met with Syrian President Bashar Assad without informing her party leadership.
