The punch line: “Whether there are at least four principled GOP senators willing not only to recognize the danger Gabbard poses to our intelligence services but to risk the wrath of Trump and his MAGA followers by opposing Gabbard’s nomination remains to be seen.”
What are the odds the political betting sites are putting on this?
This is EVIDENTLY true. (So is Tucker Carlson, but nobody's trying to make HIM DNI - yet).
Putin's gotta be sitting in his favorite chair saying "ohpleaseohpleaseohpleaseohplease" - it is the full-on wet dream of a former KGB officer. They've been trying to burrow a mole into high places in US intelligence since before they were called KGB. And now they're going to get DNI? Handed to them on a silver platter?
Best. Present. Ever.
Of all the horrifying cabinet-level picks The Convict has proffered so far, this is the absolute unquestionable worst.
Say it again: "Tulsi Gabbard is a Russian asset."
This pick is the latest evidence that The Convict either A) has no clue what he's doing, or B) is actively trying to make the United States of America into a Russian province. He is an idiot or a traitor. And really - does it matter which?
Cult + people who think groceries cost too much and it's Biden's fault + people who have to google "tariff" to find out what it is (AFTER the election) + people who are just now finding out what a whole lot of his campaign promises will mean for THEM + racism/homo- and trans-phobia + + +... = The Convict is POTUS once again. But the cult is the biggest reason. Oh, and the entire rest of the so-called "Party of Lincoln" is so terrified by the cult, they just get dragged along.
Timothy Snyder (author of On Tyranny) calls it Trumpomuskovia - the new country with the Liar and Musk jointly running it until Musk goes too far a pisses off the Liar. Read Snyder’s post. Really good.
John Kennedy, (M-LA), saying in one breath that "Foreign policy... is going to be set by one person, President Trump" and "foreign policy is complex and it’s nuanced" is enough to set my teeth on fire. Trump can't manage anything more complex than unwrapping a cheeseburger wrapper in his current condition.
I stole the (M-LA) — M stands for the MAGA party— from you and your funny Marjorie Taylor Greene political party identifiers, and I admit this without shame.
The other thing is, even if Dumpy puts himself in charge of foreign policy, that won't affect the damage Gabbard can do. She could still say things, and could still be approached by our country's enemies. Furthermore, as Jay said, just having her in that position could make our (current) allies unwilling to share intelligence with us, and we would come out the loser. Kennedy's "Don't worry, President Dumpy will be in charge of her" is fatuous and disingenuous.
I hope our team in the Senate are working on their R counterparts who might be persuaded. Whether she is in the tank for Putin or just has a crush on him really is irrelevant. In my heart of hearts I believe tRump passed US intelligence and documents to Putin. I think it highly likely she will too.
Excellent article. Thanks for the link. She's in a fringe religious group that's actively seeking political power. It's been obvious for some time that her guiding motivation was acquiring power wherever she could. She wasn't getting anywhere in the Democratic party so why not jump on the Trump train? Principles aren't popular with the Trump crowd.
Welp - he is the duly elected POTUS, and can nominate anyone he wants to any position he wants. He doesn't HAVE to explain his reasoning - and he'd just lie anyway.
What everybody KNOWS and what anyone can PROVE are different things. She has not been indicted, charged, or convicted as a foreign agent.
Our only real hope is these nominations are each and all a bridge too far for 4-5 Republican Senators. Not holding my breath over here.
Thank you, Jay, for pulling this together for us today. I’ve learned a lot from you and the sources you used—as well as from other commenters and their links.
Substacker Scott Dworkin has a nice infrastructure for letters to senators regarding most of these crazy nominations. Remember that recommending other Substackers does not peel off subscribers from Substackers we admire. This is a team effort; the bigger the team, the better our chances of success.
Tulsi Gabbard would funnel sensitive national security intel to Russia and not give it a second thought. Remember, during the first Trump tour de farce, he proposed actually implementing an intelligence-sharing agreement. Does anyone doubt that Trump would give Gabbardova the green light to do just that behind the scenes? The guy who stole national security documents is going to put the reins on Russia's girlfriend when it would buy him Putin's 'friendship'?
Seriously, the GOP, especially people like Senator Foghorn Leghorn, are 'God's perfect idiots' to quote Wolverine if they believe Trump gives a damn about protecting this country.
You'd better believe I don't like seeing Russian assets in a position to expose our national defense and intelligence secrets to our enemies. Anyone who isn't concerned about the damage they can and will do is morally flawed.
I agree with you on that. The idea that Tulsi is a Russian asset is too funny. It is like a bunch of high school girls are trying to get back at another girl for showing them how stupid they are.
The Russians call her their asset. On Russian state TV. Russia doesn't have independent media, so nothing that's said on Russian media happens without the Kremlin's approval. Check yourself.
What continues to drive me nuts is people like McConnell, who says he supports Ukraine, but failed to help impeach Trump, even though he knew Trump would side with Putin. And people like Nikki Haley, who KNEW what Trump was and said so publicly... and then went and endorsed him. Neither of them have the excuse of not having enough information or not knowing. They knew. And they still did what they did.
The punch line: “Whether there are at least four principled GOP senators willing not only to recognize the danger Gabbard poses to our intelligence services but to risk the wrath of Trump and his MAGA followers by opposing Gabbard’s nomination remains to be seen.”
What are the odds the political betting sites are putting on this?
Very long, I would guess.
"Tulsi Gabbard is a Russian asset."
This is EVIDENTLY true. (So is Tucker Carlson, but nobody's trying to make HIM DNI - yet).
Putin's gotta be sitting in his favorite chair saying "ohpleaseohpleaseohpleaseohplease" - it is the full-on wet dream of a former KGB officer. They've been trying to burrow a mole into high places in US intelligence since before they were called KGB. And now they're going to get DNI? Handed to them on a silver platter?
Best. Present. Ever.
Of all the horrifying cabinet-level picks The Convict has proffered so far, this is the absolute unquestionable worst.
Say it again: "Tulsi Gabbard is a Russian asset."
This pick is the latest evidence that The Convict either A) has no clue what he's doing, or B) is actively trying to make the United States of America into a Russian province. He is an idiot or a traitor. And really - does it matter which?
Now, someone PLEASE tell me how this traitor continues to be elected??
Cult + people who think groceries cost too much and it's Biden's fault + people who have to google "tariff" to find out what it is (AFTER the election) + people who are just now finding out what a whole lot of his campaign promises will mean for THEM + racism/homo- and trans-phobia + + +... = The Convict is POTUS once again. But the cult is the biggest reason. Oh, and the entire rest of the so-called "Party of Lincoln" is so terrified by the cult, they just get dragged along.
But it’s been known for some time that she’s compromised. How has an election opponent not jumped all over this? I know I damned well would have!
Make no mistake, Dave, Tucker is Trump's fall-back pick for DNI if Gabbardova goes down in flames.
Thus the "yet"...
I say it looks like USA is now trump INC. WTF I think we Are living in dumbF@#$%Kistan.
Timothy Snyder (author of On Tyranny) calls it Trumpomuskovia - the new country with the Liar and Musk jointly running it until Musk goes too far a pisses off the Liar. Read Snyder’s post. Really good.
Will Republicans confirm TOOLSI?
Of course they will
She may be worse than the rapist (DOD) and crack head (FBI) waiting to be confirmed.
Scratch "may", insert "will". No doubt about it.
John Kennedy, (M-LA), saying in one breath that "Foreign policy... is going to be set by one person, President Trump" and "foreign policy is complex and it’s nuanced" is enough to set my teeth on fire. Trump can't manage anything more complex than unwrapping a cheeseburger wrapper in his current condition.
I stole the (M-LA) — M stands for the MAGA party— from you and your funny Marjorie Taylor Greene political party identifiers, and I admit this without shame.
What a country.
John Kennedy is the only Senator I think gives Tuberville a run for his money in the competition for dumbest member of the Senate.
That’s almost impressive.
IKR?
The other thing is, even if Dumpy puts himself in charge of foreign policy, that won't affect the damage Gabbard can do. She could still say things, and could still be approached by our country's enemies. Furthermore, as Jay said, just having her in that position could make our (current) allies unwilling to share intelligence with us, and we would come out the loser. Kennedy's "Don't worry, President Dumpy will be in charge of her" is fatuous and disingenuous.
I love the M party name for them. Total truth
I wish I could claim credit for the idea, but that's a Jay thing that he started with MTG — (Q-GA), I believe, with Q standing for QAnon. Hysterical.
I hope our team in the Senate are working on their R counterparts who might be persuaded. Whether she is in the tank for Putin or just has a crush on him really is irrelevant. In my heart of hearts I believe tRump passed US intelligence and documents to Putin. I think it highly likely she will too.
You missed her being in a cult: https://www.civilbeat.org/2024/12/senators-urged-to-examine-gabbards-deep-and-intense-ties-to-hawaii-sect/ She's also very vane. She has terrible acne and has to use tons of make up to cover it up. Oh, I guess that's why she gets along so well with the orange makeup man.
Excellent article. Thanks for the link. She's in a fringe religious group that's actively seeking political power. It's been obvious for some time that her guiding motivation was acquiring power wherever she could. She wasn't getting anywhere in the Democratic party so why not jump on the Trump train? Principles aren't popular with the Trump crowd.
The real question is why does Trump want her in this job? It’s nonsensical
Because Vladdy wants her to have it.
Isn’t that disqualifying in and of itself? How is he getting away with this?
Welp - he is the duly elected POTUS, and can nominate anyone he wants to any position he wants. He doesn't HAVE to explain his reasoning - and he'd just lie anyway.
What everybody KNOWS and what anyone can PROVE are different things. She has not been indicted, charged, or convicted as a foreign agent.
Our only real hope is these nominations are each and all a bridge too far for 4-5 Republican Senators. Not holding my breath over here.
Thank you, Jay, for pulling this together for us today. I’ve learned a lot from you and the sources you used—as well as from other commenters and their links.
What did he pull together? I heard all of this crap from some kids posting to TikTok.
This is really frightening. This could open the door to terror attacks on our soil. What on earth is Trump doing? Why does he hate America so much?
I am convinced that Trump wants revenge on America for rejecting him in 2020.
I'm wondering how many months in before one happens...
This is really scary that you believe this crap.
Too much to read! What can any of us do? Be specific about actions that might be effective
If you have a Republican senator or two in your state then write them immediately and tell them that you don't want Gabbard confirmed.
Substacker Scott Dworkin has a nice infrastructure for letters to senators regarding most of these crazy nominations. Remember that recommending other Substackers does not peel off subscribers from Substackers we admire. This is a team effort; the bigger the team, the better our chances of success.
Tulsi Gabbard would funnel sensitive national security intel to Russia and not give it a second thought. Remember, during the first Trump tour de farce, he proposed actually implementing an intelligence-sharing agreement. Does anyone doubt that Trump would give Gabbardova the green light to do just that behind the scenes? The guy who stole national security documents is going to put the reins on Russia's girlfriend when it would buy him Putin's 'friendship'?
Seriously, the GOP, especially people like Senator Foghorn Leghorn, are 'God's perfect idiots' to quote Wolverine if they believe Trump gives a damn about protecting this country.
Take a look in the mirror before you start typing this nonsense.
Take your own advice.
I do and I like what I see. Unlike you.
You'd better believe I don't like seeing Russian assets in a position to expose our national defense and intelligence secrets to our enemies. Anyone who isn't concerned about the damage they can and will do is morally flawed.
I agree with you on that. The idea that Tulsi is a Russian asset is too funny. It is like a bunch of high school girls are trying to get back at another girl for showing them how stupid they are.
The Russians call her their asset. On Russian state TV. Russia doesn't have independent media, so nothing that's said on Russian media happens without the Kremlin's approval. Check yourself.
Expect Resistance
Willthey vote to confirm her? Sure, they would name Genghis Kahn to be our representatve to the UM if he paid them enough.
What continues to drive me nuts is people like McConnell, who says he supports Ukraine, but failed to help impeach Trump, even though he knew Trump would side with Putin. And people like Nikki Haley, who KNEW what Trump was and said so publicly... and then went and endorsed him. Neither of them have the excuse of not having enough information or not knowing. They knew. And they still did what they did.