Democratic presidential candidate Tulsi Gabbard slammed Hillary Clinton on Friday for promoting unfounded rumors that she’s a Russian agent.
In a series of tweets that quickly went viral, Gabbard, a congresswoman from Hawaii, called Clinton “the queen of warmongers, embodiment of corruption, and personification of the rot that has sickened the Democratic Party for so long.”
Great! Thank you @HillaryClinton. You, the queen of warmongers, embodiment of corruption, and personification of the rot that has sickened the Democratic Party for so long, have finally come out from behind the curtain. From the day I announced my candidacy, there has been a …
— Tulsi Gabbard (@TulsiGabbard) October 18, 2019
She went on to accuse the former secretary of state of orchestrating a smear campaign along with “powerful allies in the corporate media and war machine.” Then, Gabbard challenged Clinton to enter the 2020 contest.
“It’s now clear that this primary is between you and me,” Gabbard said. “Don’t cowardly hide behind your proxies. Join the race directly.”
… powerful allies in the corporate media and war machine, afraid of the threat I pose.
It’s now clear that this primary is between you and me. Don’t cowardly hide behind your proxies. Join the race directly.
— Tulsi Gabbard (@TulsiGabbard) October 18, 2019
Gabbard’s tirade was apparently inspired by comments Clinton made on Thursday’s episode of the “Campaign HQ” podcast, which is hosted by fellow ex-Obama aide David Plouffe. Although Clinton stopped short of naming Gabbard during the interview, she was not subtle.
“I’m not making any predictions, but I think they’ve got their eye on somebody who is currently in the Democratic primary and are grooming her to be the third-party candidate,” Clinton said. “She’s the favorite of the Russians. They have a bunch of sites and bots and other ways of supporting her so far.”
Clinton went on to accuse Jill Stein, the Green Party candidate for president in 2016, of also being an asset of Russia.
“That’s assuming Jill Stein will give it up, which she might not because she’s also a Russian asset,” she said.
Clinton has previously included Stein’s campaign on the long list of things she blames for her loss of the presidency to Republican nominee Donald Trump.
At another point during the podcast, Clinton repeated her claim that Trump is an “illegitimate president.”
Plouffe ended the podcast with a reference to Clinton’s “belief that Tulsi Gabbard is going to be a third-party candidate propped up by Trump and the Russians.”
Gabbard has said she would not mount a third-party campaign.
