Tulsi Gabbard Responds To Hillary Clinton’s Claim She Is Being ‘Groomed’ By Russians, Calls On Her To Join Race

Hillary Clinton said Thursday that Russians are currently “grooming” a Democrat running in the presidential primary to run as a third-party candidate, seemingly suggesting Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-Hawaii) as their target.

“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 during an interview on the podcast Campaign HQ. “She’s the favorite of the Russians. They have a bunch of sites and bots and other ways of supporting her, so far.”

She threw 2016 Green Party candidate Jill Stein into the mix adding, “that’s assuming Jill Stein will give it up, which she might not because she’s also a Russian asset.”

Several reports, including one prepared for the Senate Intelligence Committee, indicated Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election included messaging on social media in support of Stein.

The report found that the Russian government-linked Internet Research Agency used social media platforms and online messaging to support of Stein’s campaign, as part of “comprehensive anti-Hillary Clinton operations.”

Although Clinton never mentions Gabbard by name, she is the only female candidate to have been scrutinized for ties to Russia.

During the Democratic debate Tuesday night, Gabbard went after the New York Times and CNN for their coverage of her candidacy. The New York Times clarified in a later article that she was not implied to be a Russian asset, but stated that she is often in Russian state news media.

“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,” Gabbard said.

Hours prior to the debate, CNN analyst Bakari Sellers, called her “a puppet for the Russian government.”

Gabbard has drawn bipartisan criticism for her isolationist views, particularly on American military involvement in Syria. She has avoided condemning Syrian President Bashar Assad, even after he was implicated in committing war crimes. In February, she told MSNBC that the Syrian dictator is “not the enemy of the United State.”

Gabbard shot back at Clinton in a series of three tweets accusing the former presidential nominee of being being behind a “concerted campaign” to destroy her reputation.

“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,” Gabbard tweeted. “From the day I announced my candidacy, there has been a concerted campaign to destroy my reputation.”

“We wondered who was behind it and why,” she continued. “Now we know — it was always you, through your proxies and 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.

She then challenged Clinton saying, “Don’t cowardly hide behind your proxies. Join the race directly.”

Gabbard has previously stated she would not consider running under a third party if she failed to win the Democratic Party’s nomination.