President Donald Trump had an eyebrow-raising superlative to offer Tuesday, calling Director of Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard the “hottest in the room.”
While speaking at a reception with Republican lawmakers at the White House, Trump singled out Gabbard—a former Democrat—declaring, “She’s like, hotter than everybody. She’s the hottest one in the room right now.”
Turning towards House Speaker Mike Johnson, who was also in the crowd, the 79-year-old president added, “Speaker, she’s hotter than you right now, speaker. She’s the hottest person in the room right now, speaker,” eliciting roaring laughter from attendees.
Gabbard, 44, has climbed to the top of Trump’s internal power rankings after claiming Friday to have uncovered documents allegedly showing that the Obama administration “manufactured” intelligence to promote the idea that Russia interfered in the 2016 election.
The timing of Gabbard’s so-called “treasonous conspiracy” revelation couldn’t have been more convenient for Trump, who has been desperate to divert attention from how he’s handled the Jeffrey Epstein files.
“[Gabbard] found out that Barack Hussein Obama led a group of people and they cheated in the elections and they cheated without question,” he said at the reception.
“She has all the documents, she has everything that you need. You’ve found things that nobody thought we’d ever find. Very happy and very honored to have you with us.”
Trump added: “We’re very proud of you, Tulsi.”
Gabbard, who ran for president as a Democrat in 2020 and only left the party in 2022, claims that a sparse batch of declassified emails and meeting agendas show how Obama officials allegedly “manufactured and politicized intelligence” to subvert Trump’s 2016 victory and launch a “years-long coup” against him.
However, a bipartisan 2020 Senate report concluded Russia did influence the election to try to get Trump elected but did not conspire with him to do so. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, then a Senator serving as chairman of the Intelligence Committee, signed off on the investigation. Other reports have come to the same conclusion.
After Trump labeled his predecessor a “major threat” to America Monday, writing, “Obama himself manufactured the Russia, Russia, Russia HOAX,” Obama’s office issued a rare statement Tuesday.
“The bizarre allegations are ridiculous and a weak attempt at distraction,” said the statement from Obama’s spokesman Patrick Rodenbush. “Nothing in the document issued last week undercuts the widely accepted conclusion that Russia worked to influence the 2016 presidential election but did not successfully manipulate any votes.”
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