At a White House reception Tuesday night, President Donald Trump had all eyes on Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, and not just for her work. Trump repeatedly called her the “hottest person” in the room while publicly applauding her for publishing a report that points fingers at former President Barack Obama over election “cheating.”
“Where’s Tulsi? She’s, like, hotter than everybody. She’s the hottest one in the room right now,” Trump said in front of a crowd that included members of Congress. “You found things that nobody thought you’d ever find. Very happy and very honored to have you with us.”
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The report he’s so thrilled about came out Friday and essentially rewrites parts of the Russia interference narrative from the 2016 election. Gabbard’s take downplays the Kremlin’s role and instead highlights internal Obama-era communications suggesting there was no evidence of state voting systems being hacked to flip votes for Trump.
“She has all the documents, she has everything that you need,” Trump continued. “She found out that Barack Hussein Obama led a group of people, and they cheated in the elections, and they cheated without question.”
The claims drew swift pushback. According to The Associated Press, Gabbard’s report leans heavily on selected Obama administration emails and suggests that, because voting systems weren’t hacked, broader Russian interference shouldn’t be considered significant. But that ignores findings from multiple investigations, including a bipartisan report from the Senate Intelligence Committee, which confirmed Russia interfered by hacking and leaking Democratic emails and running fake social media campaigns to influence voters.
Despite Trump’s enthusiasm, Obama’s camp didn’t take kindly to the accusations. Former President Obama, who usually avoids reacting to Trump’s jabs, responded through spokesperson Patrick Rodenbush. “Our office does not normally dignify the constant nonsense and misinformation flowing out of this White House with a response,” Rodenbush said. “But these claims are outrageous enough to merit one. These bizarre allegations are ridiculous and a weak attempt at distraction.”
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Even within the intelligence community, not everyone was thrilled. Democratic Senator Mark Warner, a member of the Senate Intelligence Committee, criticized Gabbard on social media. “It is sadly not surprising that DNI Gabbard, who promised to depoliticize the intelligence community, is once again weaponizing her position to amplify the president’s election conspiracy theories,” Warner posted.
Still, the report may have salvaged Gabbard’s position with Trump, who just a month ago had criticized her for saying she didn’t believe Iran was pursuing a nuclear weapon. Now, she seems back in his good graces.
“She’s hotter than you right now, Speaker [Mike Johnson],” Trump joked from the stage, clearly enjoying the attention. “She’s the hottest person in the room right now, Speaker.”
“So Tulsi, great job,” he said. “And I know you have a lot more coming. She told me, ‘you’ve seen nothing yet.’”