A top aide to Hillary Clinton has amplified the former secretary of state’s claim that 2020 Democratic candidate Tulsi Gabbard is a “Russian asset.”
Nick Merrill was asked to clarify comments Clinton made on a Thursday episode of the Campaign HQ podcast hosted by David Plouffe, President Barack Obama’s 2008 campaign manager. Clinton said that a ‘Russian asset’ was running in the Democratic primary for president and would run third-party in the general election to help reelect President Trump.
“If the nesting doll fits,” Merrill told a CNN reporter. “This is not some outlandish claim. 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.”
[Read more: ‘Completely despicable’: Tulsi Gabbard rips CNN and New York Times during their presidential debate]
Update from @merica: when asked if the former secretary of state was referring to Gabbard, Clinton spox Nick Merrill said, “If the nesting doll fits.”
“This is not some outlandish claim,” Merrill added. “This is reality.”
— Rebecca Buck (@RebeccaBuck) October 18, 2019
Nesting dolls — which are also called stacking dolls, Matryoshka dolls, Russian Tea dolls, or Babushka Dolls — are composed of increasingly smaller wooden dolls placed one inside another.
In August, Gabbard pledged not to launch a third-party bid if she did not win the Democratic primary.
