‘That was way back when’: Bernie Sanders backpedals hard when confronted about his old comments on Tulsi Gabbard

Senator Bernie Sanders recently distanced himself from Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard when confronted about his past praise for her. He dismissed their shared history by saying, “That was way back when, that was a few years ago.” This cold response came as Gabbard faces scrutiny over her role in election security.

According to Mediaite, the confrontation happened after Gabbard attended an FBI raid on an election hub in Fulton County, Georgia. Agents took records related to the 2020 election during the raid. Her presence at the event raised questions about her involvement in domestic law enforcement matters.

The DNI role normally focuses on foreign threats and is usually kept separate from domestic law enforcement. Critics worry that President Trump is trying to influence upcoming elections. Trump continues to claim the 2020 election was fraudulent despite no evidence supporting this claim. He recently suggested some elections should be “nationalized” to prevent alleged corruption.

Sanders questions Trump’s use of Gabbard for political purposes

Sanders believes President Trump is using Gabbard to “create a political situation where he won’t lose in one way or another” in the midterms. The senator expressed concern about the growing political influence over law enforcement operations. Sanders has been vocal about challenging establishment politics and how political donations influence lawmakers.

He said that he thinks “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.” Sanders called this “scary stuff and we’ve got to fight it every step of the way.”

Sanders and Gabbard were once close political allies. Gabbard endorsed Sanders for president in both 2016 and 2020. She even resigned as vice-chair of the Democratic National Committee in 2016 to protest what she saw as bias against Sanders during the primary race against Hillary Clinton.

However, Gabbard left the Democratic Party in 2022 and has since joined President Trump’s team. Despite their history of shared policy views and her loyal support for his campaigns, Sanders voted against her confirmation as Director of National Intelligence. She still secured the position and became the first Hindu to hold the DNI post. The senator has consistently opposed Trump’s foreign policy decisions and actions.

Gabbard defended her presence at the Georgia raid in a letter. She explained her actions were consistent with U.S. law and her authority over election security counterintelligence. Her office confirmed the DNI role includes leading counterintelligence efforts related to election security, which covers the FBI’s counterintelligence divisions. 

She also arranged a call that allowed President Trump to “express his gratitude to the FBI agents who conducted the search.” Gabbard said neither she nor the president gave any orders during the call, and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence found her actions were within her legal authority.