Karl Rove said that Hillary Clinton needs to either “put up or shut up” over her accusations that 2020 Democratic contender Tulsi Gabbard and former Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein could be Russian assets.
Rove, President George W. Bush’s deputy chief of staff, made the remarks on Fox News’ The Story with Martha MacCallum Friday night. The comments come after Clinton, 71, said Gabbard, 38, is “a favorite of the Russians” and implied that the congresswoman is a “Russian asset.”
“Over the top, out of her mind,” Rove said of Clinton. “Put up or shut up.”
He continued, “She’s either got to come forward with the evidence of the bots in the platforms, in the sites that are being used on behalf of Gabbard. She has to come up with the evidence that Jill Stein was a Russian asset. Tell us — prove that that was the case. Or better yet, just shut up or go away.
“This is just appalling,” he added, wondering why Clinton would “engage in this kind of bizarre activity.”
“And she better either prove them, give the evidence to the FBI if she believes it … give them to the American people so we can judge whether this is just some rant and rave or whether she has actually got something to back it up,” Rove said.
After the accusation, the Hawaii congresswoman hit back at Clinton over Twitter and taunted her to join the 2020 race.
“The queen of warmongers, embodiment of corruption, and personification of the rot that has sickened the Democratic Party for so long,” Gabbard said. “It’s now clear that this primary is between you and me. Don’t cowardly hide behind your proxies. Join the race directly.”
