Hillary Clinton implied in a recent interview that Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-HI) is being “groomed” by Russia to run a third-party candidacy.
“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. She’s the favorite of the Russians,” Clinton in an interview with former Obama campaign manager David Plouffe. (Listen here, around 35:30.)
Plouffe later pointed out on Twitter that a popular third-party run from Gabbard, or anyone else, would likely help President Donald Trump’s chances at re-election. Gabbard told CNN in August that she would not run as a third-party candidate.
Clinton continued: “They have a bunch of sites and bots and other ways of supporting her so far. And that’s assuming [Green Party politician] Jill Stein will give it up, which she might not because she’s also a Russian asset. She’s a Russian asset, I mean, totally. They know they can’t win without a third party candidate.”
When CNN asked Clinton spokesperson Nick Merrill if the former secretary of state was referring to Gabbard, he responded: “If the nesting doll fits.”
“This is not some outlandish claim. This is reality,” Merrill said. “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.”
Gabbard’s campaign did not respond to TPM’s request for comment.
Yup.
Would not surprise me one bit if she is right
Before people start banging this drum, true or not, find the evidence. Find the hard-core evidence that irrefutably links Tulsi and Stein to the Russians. If it’s all hear-say, the story won’t get legs. Find the absolute funding evidence. Find the bots and point it out.
We can’t rely on social media to do it. We have to find it ourselves. There are very smart people out there that can find this, but throwing stones like this is going to lead to a repeat of 2016.
Follow the money. Where’re they getting their money from? Start there and the rest falls into place.
Glad she brought it up. Everybody knows its Gabbard. Make her deny it.
Either Gabbard is a Jill Stein Dem Insider Edition or she has serious trumpian traits that makes her a natural fit as a Putin tool!
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Important: to distinguish the term “agent” between Russian and US.
Addendum5:
A week later NYT changed their story because it misquoted HRC on her Gabbard comment…ahemmm…HRC’s comment re:grooming Gabbard by the Republicans, not Russians!