Liberals Spin Senator’s Misstatement Into False Attack On Tulsi Gabbard

A senator misspoke during an interview — and the liberal media immediately weaponized it to slam President Trump’s nominee for Director of National Intelligence (DNI), Tulsi Gabbard.

Republican West Virginia Sen. Shelley Moore Capito told Fox News Sunday’s Shannon Bream earlier this month about her meeting with Gabbard and their discussion about her contentious trip to Syria in 2017, where she met with former Syrian dictator Bashar al-Asaad.

Appreciated the chance to meet with President-elect @realDonaldTrump’s pick to be the Director of @ODNIgov, @TulsiGabbard.

We had a substantive discussion about our shared interests in protecting our nation from threats and ensuring the Intelligence Community has the tools it… pic.twitter.com/D5sSVD2Fci

— Shelley Moore Capito (@SenCapito) January 7, 2025

“I asked her about Syria,” Capito said. “I asked her how she got there, and she told me traveled with former Congressman Dennis Kucinich and, that originally they were just going to go to Lebanon, and then they ended up in Syria.”

Capito’s office clarified what Gabbard told the senator in a statement to the Daily Caller: it was the meeting with Assad that was unplanned, not the trip to Syria entirely. (RELATED: Trump’s Picks Were Once Victims Of Deep State Abuse. It’s Why They’re Perfect For The Job)

“Lt. Col. Gabbard told her that she was on a fact-finding trip to both Lebanon and Syria. The way that Lt. Col. Gabbard explained the Syria trip to Senator Capito was that Lt. Col. Gabbard was frustrated by the lack of a comprehensive view of what was taking place in Syria and wanted to engage with political, business, and religious leaders on the ground to see things with her own eyes. Additionally, Lt. Col. Gabbard told Senator Capito that the meeting with Assad was not previously planned and was not the intention of the visit.”

However, critics immediately used the senator’s interview to launch an attack against Gabbard. (RELATED: Deep State Officials Opposing Tulsi Gabbard’s Nomination Have Close Ties To Defense Contractors, Censorship Tools)

“We’re not buying yet another lie from one of Trump’s extreme and dangerous cabinet nominees,” liberal super PAC American Bridge 21st Century tweeted.

Tulsi Gabbard told Senator Shelley Moore Capito her trip to Syria to meet with a murderous dictator was supposed to be a trip to Lebanon and then “they ended up in Syria.”

We’re not buying yet another lie from one of Trump’s extreme and dangerous cabinet nominees. pic.twitter.com/tAWsVGPLmW

— American Bridge 21st Century (@American_Bridge) January 16, 2025

CBS News’ “Face the Nation” told Democratic Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly that Capito said Gabbard told her “she didn’t even know she was going to Syria, that she intended to go to Lebanon on a scheduled visit and ended up in Syria.”

“I think it’s kind of unusual that you wind up in one place that wasn’t part of the plan,” Kelly responded.

Incredibly bizarre: Tulsi told Sen. Capito that her infamous 2017 trip to visit Assad in Damascus was actually scheduled for Lebanon, but she ended up in Syria by accident.

Sen. Kelly calls BS here and then politely eviscerates Tulsi for obviously lying. pic.twitter.com/w6HaUYIVZ8

— Kareem Rifai 🌐 (@KareemRifai) January 14, 2025

During its inauguration coverage, CBS News reiterated the claim that Gabbard told Capito she “ended up in [Syria].”

CBS, among other outlets, have also characterized Gabbard’s trip to Syria as “secret.” In one graphic, CBS stated she “made [a] secret visit to Syria.”

A source familiar pushed back on that claim and told the Caller the trip was “confidential” due to security reasons.

“The area was crawling with al-Qaeda and ISIS and she could have easily have been kidnapped or killed if these terrorist groups knew she was coming,” the source said. (RELATED: ‘They Know He Will Expose Them’: Tulsi Gabbard Says ‘Deep State’ Will Do ‘All They Can To Destroy Trump’)

Ethics documents filed by Gabbard at the time of the trip show it was intended to be to both Syria and Lebanon.

In 2019, then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi canceled a trip to take a commercial plane to see U.S. troops in Afghanistan, accusing Trump of risking her security by “leaking” the trip. Pelosi also met with Assad in 2007.

Asaad was toppled by opposition forces in December and fled to Russia where he remains in exile. Gabbard previously called him a “brutal dictator” in 2019.

Fake News Narrative: @TulsiGabbard is an Assad sympathizer!@TulsiGabbard (2019): “He is a brutal dictator.” pic.twitter.com/YiQHSho5f2

— Trump War Room (@TrumpWarRoom) December 9, 2024