Veteran and Democrat presidential candidate Rep. Tulsi Gabbard took aim at President Trump over the weekend for his handling on the Saudi Arabia oil supply attack, implying he’s a slave of Saudi Arabia.
“Trump awaits instructions from his Saudi masters. Having our country act as Saudi Arabia’s bitch is not ‘America First,’” Gabbard tweeted late Sunday night.
Trump awaits instructions from his Saudi masters. Having our country act as Saudi Arabia’s bitch is not “America First.” https://t.co/kJOCpqwaQS
— Tulsi Gabbard (@TulsiGabbard) September 16, 2019
Gabbard’s tweet came in reply to Trump’s earlier Sunday evening tweet, which said, “Saudi Arabia oil supply was attacked. There is reason to believe that we know the culprit, are locked and loaded depending on verification, but are waiting to hear from the Kingdom as to who they believe was the cause of this attack, and under what terms we would proceed!”
President Trump has indicated that he is considering a joint response with Saudi Arabia after intelligence officials learned that Iranian weapons were used in the drone attack on Saudi Arabia’s oil supply.
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Defense Secretary Mike Esper have blamed Iran for the attack, though Iran has denied the allegation.
Iranian-backed Yemeni Houthi rebels claimed responsibility for the attack, which disrupted half of Saudi Arabia’s oil supply and stands as the largest ever disruption to oil production in the world.
President Trump authorized the release of the Strategic Petroleum Reserves to counter the disruption.
It is the second time Gabbard has accused Trump of making the U.S. “Saudi Arabia’s b*tch.”
The previous accusation came in November 2018 when she criticized Trump for not retaliating against Saudi Arabia and its leader Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman for the killing of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
“Hey @realdonaldtrump: being Saudi Arabia’s bitch is not ‘America First,’” she tweeted at the time.
Hey @realdonaldtrump: being Saudi Arabia’s bitch is not “America First.”
— Tulsi Gabbard (@TulsiGabbard) November 21, 2018
After her November tweet, reporters contacted Gabbard’s office to find out whether the congresswoman made the tweet herself, or if her account had been hacked. However, Gabbard’s office confirmed at the time that her account was not compromised and she wrote the tweet herself.
