Donald Trump’s spy chief Tulsi Gabbard has climbed from being on the outs to being the ‘hottest’ person in his orbit now that she has released a trove of explosive intelligence material targeting his predecessor’s administration.
‘She’s like, hotter than everybody,’ Trump told Republican lawmakers about his Director of National Intelligence during a White House reception Tuesday night.
By Wednesday morning, Gabbard was handed the plum role of taking the podium in the White House briefing room – an unusual perch for a DNI, who typically deals with dense reports and sifts through the products of the nation’s intelligence services.
She accused former President Barack Obama – like herself a Hawaii native who shares her former political party – of overseeing a ‘years-long coup and a treasonous conspiracy against the American people, our republic and an attempt to undermine President Trump’s administration.’
Trump, too, has accused Obama of treason, and the White House says the officials identified in Gabbards declassified materials should be investigated.
It marks a swift and astonishing turnaround for Gabbard, who just months ago appeared to be at odds with a key move inside the Trump administration toward confronting Iran.
Gabbard testified to Congress in March that the intelligence community believed Iran hadn’t decided to build a nuclear weapon. That put her at odds with Trump as he prepared to join Israel’s effort to try to take out Iran’s nuclear program.
Of Gabbard’s assessment, Trump flat-out said, ‘she’s wrong.’
‘Hotter than everybody’: President Donald Trump praised DNI Tulsi Gabbard at an event with Republican House members Tuesday night
The split had Gabbard reportedly sidelined in the Trump administration’s discussions about its options in the ongoing war between Iran and Israel, after she posted a controversial video.
The video from her trip to Hiroshima, Japan, in early June showed a simulation of San Francisco getting bombed and warning about imminent ‘nuclear annihilation,’ angering some Trump officials.
Gabbard’s climb back into Trump’s good graces began this past Friday, when she published partially redacted intelligence documents she said revealed a ‘treasonous conspiracy’ against Trump in 2016.
The president lauded her Tuesday night – hours after she would put out another document dump.
‘She’s the hottest one in the room right now because she found out. … I think we knew it before, in all fairness, Tulsi, but now you have certainty,’ Trump said.
‘She has all the documents. She has everything that you need. And she found out that Barack Hussein Obama led a group of people, and they cheated in the elections, and they cheated without question.’
At Wednesday’s White House press briefing, Gabbard got asked point blank by CNN’s Kaitlan Collins if she was only releasing the latest documents ‘to improve your standing with the president after he said that your intelligence assessments were wrong.’
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt responded by saying only those trying to ‘sow distrust and chaos’ believe that.
Trump regularly calls the U.S. the ‘hottest country’ in the world
His praise for Gabbard came after she produced declassified documents Trump used to accuse Barack Obama of ‘treason.’ Obama called it ‘ridiculous’ and a ‘distraction’
Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard has released a 2020 report by the Republican-run House Intel Committee that picks apart a 2017 Intelligence Community assessment of Russian election interference. In March her testimony about Iran clashed with a move toward confronting Tehran
‘She has all the documents. She has everything that you need. And she found out that Barack Hussein Obama led a group of people, and they cheated in the elections,’ Trump said, praising Gabbard
Gabbard on Wednesday declassified another tranche of documents about the 2016 elections – after President Donald Trump accused Barack Obama of ‘treason’ and said he should be investigated.
She ordered the release of a 2020 report by the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence on Russia’s attempts to influence the 2016 presidential election.
Although Trump won that election, he has long railed against what he calls the Russia ‘hoax’ cooked up by Democrats to try and link his campaign to the foreign adversary.
Accusations of collusion with Russia marred his first term in the White House, but the Mueller report didn’t find that the Trump campaign or anyone associated with it ‘conspired or coordinated with the Russian government.’
Trump is now calling for investigations of top Obama national security officials at the time while referring to the ex-president as the leader of a ‘gang’ out to get him.
His push comes amid growing divisions among MAGA supporters over the administration’s handling of the Jeffrey Epstein case, with calls for more document releases and DOJ interviews amid cover-up allegations.
The House Intelligence Committee report, led by Trump ally Devin Nunes, found credible intelligence that Putin ordered influence operations by leaking hacked emails. However, it disputed a 2017 assessment that Putin clearly preferred Trump, a point Trump has long rejected.
The declassified 2017 report criticized the Intelligence Community Assessment on Russia’s 2016 election interference for subpar analytic standards.
The report blamed Obama’s administration for pressuring the CIA to produce a rushed assessment by only five analysts, leading to errors and misrepresentations.
Gabbard recently accused Obama of a ‘treasonous conspiracy,’ though critics question her understanding of the CIA reports. CIA Director Ratcliffe released a more nuanced review, acknowledging conflicting intelligence that Putin was ‘ambivalent’ about his candidate preference.
An Obama spokesman dismissed these claims as baseless, affirming Russia’s interference but denying vote manipulation.
Meanwhile, Epstein revelations have overshadowed these debates and divided MAGA supporters. Senator Mark Warner highlighted the disparity in document transparency, noting the Trump administration is willing to declassify many items except Epstein files.
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