Democratic Hawaii Rep. Tulsi Gabbard ripped into the media outlets hosting Tuesday’s Democratic primary debate for how they have covered her and other veterans.
Responding to a question about the conflict in Syria, the 38-year-old Iraq War veteran shamed both politicians and members of the media for promulgating “regime change war” in Syria, calling out CNN and the New York Times in particular.
“First of all,” Gabbard began, “we’ve got to understand the reality of the situation there, which is that the slaughter of the Kurds being done by Turkey is yet another negative consequence of the regime change war that we’ve been waging in Syria. Donald Trump has the blood of the Kurds on his hand, but so do many of the politicians in our country from both parties who have supported this ongoing regime change war in Syria that started in 2011, along with many in the mainstream media, who have been championing and cheerleading this regime change war.”
Gabbard then singled out the New York Times and CNN, saying, “Not only that, but, New York Times and CNN have also smeared veterans like myself for calling for an end to this regime change war. Just two days ago, the New York Times put out an article saying that I’m a Russian asset and an Assad apologist and all these different smears. This morning, a CNN commentator said on national television that I’m an asset of Russia. Completely despicable.”
Gabbard then pledged that, if elected president, she would put a stop to such wars by “ending the draconian sanctions that are really a modern-day siege,” pinpointing those leveled by Saudi Arabia against Yemen. She also said the United States must stop supporting terrorists like al Qaeda. She then called on the front-runner, Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren, to join her in calling for an end to the Syrian war.
