CNN’s Amanda Carpenter: Hillary Clinton’s Comments About Tulsi Gabbard ‘No Better’ Than When Trump Smears People

On CNN’s The Lead with Jake Tapper, Friday, CNN contributor and former Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) communications director Amanda Carpenter called out 2016 presidential candidate Hillary Clinton for referring to 2020 Democratic presidential candidate Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-HI) as a “Russian asset.”

“Gabbard’s statement is a little overwrought, but she has every right to defend herself. A former Secretary of State is declaring her to be a Russian asset,” Carpenter declared. “That is deeply unfair, and if you have a problem with the way Donald Trump smears people, well you need to take a look at Hillary Clinton because what she just did to Tulsi is no better than what Donald Trump does to people all the time.”

During the segment, Tapper also questioned whether it was responsible for Clinton to say such a thing, asking, “Is that really responsible for Hillary Clinton to say she’s a Russian asset? Like something out of the movie Red Sparrow?”

Gabbard herself responded to Clinton’s remarks in a series of Twitter posts, Friday.

“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 wrote. “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. 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. Don’t cowardly hide behind your proxies,” she continued. “Join the race directly.”