Tulsi Gabbard calls out CNN debate host as 'Completely despicable'

Oct 16

Oct 16 Tulsi Gabbard calls out CNN debate host as 'Completely despicable'

Democratic presidential candidate Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (Hawaii) used precious time during the DNC's fourth debate Tuesday night to slam the mainstream media — hitting out directly at both CNN and The New York Times, who jointly hosted the event.

"Last week, you said that American troops should get out of Syria now. You don't agree with how the president handled the withdrawal," moderator Anderson Cooper said, directing his attention to the congresswoman before asking, "What would you have done differently? How would you have pulled out troops without the bloodshed we're seeing now?"

"Well, first of all, we've got to understand the reality of the situation there," the combat veteran began, "which is that the slaughter of the Kurds being done by Turkey is yet another negative consequence of the regime change war that we've been waging in Syria."

Gabbard went to assert that there was plenty of blame to go around, saying, "Donald Trump has the blood of the Kurds on his hand, but so do many of the politicians in our country from both parties who have supported this ongoing regime change war in Syria that started in 2011 — along with many in the mainstream media who have been championing and cheerleading this regime change war."

The congresswoman then turned her ire to the two media outlets hosting the debate, saying, "The New York Times and CNN have also smeared veterans like myself for calling for an end to this regime change war."

"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. This morning, a CNN commentator said on national television that I'm an asset of Russia. Completely despicable."

Last week, Gabbard threatened to boycott the fourth Democratic primary debate, saying in a statement that "the DNC and corporate media are trying to hijack the entire election process."

Then, when The New York Times published its piece titled, "What, Exactly, Is Tulsi Gabbard Up To?," the congresswoman tweeted, "As if to prove my point, NYT just published its 'greatest hits' smear piece. All your favorite hits in one article! These are the folks who will be acting as the 'neutral' questioners/moderators of Tuesday's debate lol."