In a sprawling 27-minute interview with MAGA influencer Benny Johnson, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard launched into what can only be described as a full-scale revision of the 2016 election. Framing herself as a truth-teller and whistleblower, Gabbard portrayed the entire Trump-Russia investigation as an orchestrated hoax—one she claims was driven by Hillary Clinton and executed by a weaponized intelligence community.
Gabbard’s comments reflect a growing effort to reframe the public memory of Trump’s first election and its aftermath. With references to “burn bags,” “deep state actors,” and a supposed Durham report annex, Gabbard presented a version of events that flips the accepted timeline of the 2016 election on its head.
According to Gabbard, it was not Russia that interfered in the election, but Clinton and the FBI—who allegedly collaborated to invent the Trump-Russia narrative using discredited material from the Steele Dossier. She insisted that intelligence officials like James Clapper and John Brennan “knowingly” inserted falsehoods into official assessments, all to delegitimize Donald Trump’s win.
This telling is in direct contradiction to the findings of U.S. intelligence agencies, the bipartisan Senate Intelligence Committee, and Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation. Those investigations concluded that Russia did attempt to interfere in the 2016 election to support Trump’s candidacy.
Now leading the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, Gabbard appears to be using her position to bolster a conspiratorial narrative long embraced by Trump allies. She alleged that unnamed “bad actors” buried documents, manipulated assessments, and leaked to mainstream media—all part of a plot to frame Trump and discredit his presidency.
Perhaps most jarring was Gabbard’s invocation of “treason” to describe the actions of Clinton, the FBI, and legacy media. Without actual evidence, Gabbard discussed documents that are “in the declassification process” before suggesting that viewers “read the emails themselves.”
She did not provide direct evidence, instead pointing to documents “in the declassification process” and encouraging viewers to “read the emails themselves.”
Despite offering no new proof, Gabbard’s claims echoed MAGA talking points nearly word-for-word—suggesting her media tour is as much about rehabilitating Trump’s image as it is about reshaping the historical record.
