Bernie Sanders Runs From Past Comments About Tulsi Gabbard When Confronted: ‘That Was Way Back When’

 

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) ran away from his past praise of Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard when confronted by CNN’s Kaitlan Collins.

On Tuesday’s The Source, Collins interviewed Sanders and noted that Gabbard has been tasked by the administration with overseeing election security. The announcement comes as the FBI raided an election hub in Fulton County, Georgia, where agents confiscated records.

Officials have said Gabbard is not involved with the Georgia probe, but critics have raised concerns ahead of the midterms that President Donald Trump is trying to influence upcoming elections. He suggested in an interview with former FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino recently that some elections should perhaps be “nationalized” to avoid alleged corruption. The president continues to maintain that the 2020 presidential election was fraudulent, but there is no actual proof of the widespread fraud he’s insisted existed for years now.

“She’s someone that you’ve called before a courageous leader, a great friend. I don’t know if you would describe her that way,” Collins said after noting Gabbard’s election security assignment is not typical for her post.

“That was way back when, that was a few years ago,” Sanders explained.

While Gabbard and Sanders were once close allies aligned on specific issues, Gabbard left the Democratic Party in 2022 and has since joined ranks with Trump’s team.

Sanders told Collins that Gabbard is being used by the president to “create a political situation where he won’t lose in one way or another” in the midterms.

He said:

I’m sorry, I think they understand that more and more Americans, not just progressives, not just moderates, there are conservatives who say, hey, we don’t want to see masked troops, federal agents, in Minneapolis breaking down doors and shooting people. This is not what America is about. And Trump is on the defensive. I think the polling is pretty clear. His numbers are going down. Everything being equal. I think the Democrats are going to regain control over the House, maybe the Senate. And what he is now figuring out is how can he create a political situation where he won’t lose in one way or another. And I think that is scary stuff and we’ve got to fight it every step of the way.

Watch above via CNN.

New: The Mediaite One-Sheet "Newsletter of Newsletters"
Your daily summary and analysis of what the many, many media newsletters are saying and reporting. Subscribe now!

Tags:

Zachary Leeman covered pop culture and politics at outlets such as Breitbart, LifeZette, BizPac Review, HollywoodinToto, and others. He is the author of the novel Nigh. He joined Mediaite in 2022.