Breaking Down Trump’s Public Rebuke of Tulsi Gabbard’s Statement on Iran—and Her Response

Ahead of launching U.S. strikes at three Iranian nuclear sites, President Donald Trump had said that his Director of National Intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard, was "wrong" to say that Iran is not currently building a nuclear weapon.

When asked about the claims made by his intelligence community, specifically Gabbard, Trump was clear, telling reporters on Friday: “She’s wrong.”

In March, Gabbard testified in front of Congress that the intelligence community [IC] “continues to assess that Iran is not building a nuclear weapon, and Supreme Leader [Ali] Khamenei has not authorized the nuclear weapons program that he suspended in 2003. The IC continues to monitor, closely, if Tehran decides to reauthorize its nuclear weapons program."

The testimony resurfaced as Trump weighed his options regarding U.S. involvement in the Israel-Iran conflict.

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Trump’s latest comments echo those he made to reporters on Air Force One on June 17, when he said he did not “care” about what Gabbard had testified earlier in the year.

“I don’t care what she said, I think they were very close to having one,” Trump said of his belief that Iran was inching towards having a nuclear weapon.

Central to Trump’s stance regarding Israel’s initial assault on Iran is his belief that Iran has been moving closer to nuclear capability. He plainly said that “Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon.”

Trump’s stance, bolstered by a May 31 International Atomic Energy Agency report (that stated Iran had accumulated roughly 120 kg of uranium enriched to 60%, dangerously close to weapons-grade levels of 90%), undermines previous reports by U.S. intelligence, including that of Gabbard, a former Democrat.

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In response to Trump’s new assertion that she was “wrong” in her previous testimony, Gabbard took to social media on Friday, stating that her words had been taken out of context by "dishonest media." Gabbard maintains that she and Trump are on the same page.

"The dishonest media is intentionally taking my testimony out of context and spreading fake news as a way to manufacture division," Gabbard said. "America has intelligence that Iran is at the point that it can produce a nuclear weapon within weeks to months, if they decide to finalize the assembly. President Trump has been clear that can't happen, and I agree."

Attached to the post was a longer video of her testimony, which also included her claims that “Iran’s enriched uranium stockpile is at its highest levels and is unprecedented for a state without nuclear weapons.”

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Trump reportedly still has “full confidence” in his intelligence team, according to White House communications director Steven Cheung, but the open disagreements between Trump and members of his Administration signal splinters over the Israel-Iran conflict.

The President faced questions from both within and outside the Republican party, as he weighed up his options about whether the U.S. would intervene in the conflict, despite him campaigning on staying out of wars overseas. Following the U.S. strikes, leaders outside of the U.S. have spoken out, with some expressing they are "gravely alarmed" by the escalation. Meanwhile, Gabbard—in an apparent show of support—reposted Trump's announcement about the U.S. strikes.