Andrew Yang Doubles Down On Defense Of Tulsi Gabbard

Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang previously defended fellow candidate Tulsi Gabbard against Hillary Clinton‘s suggestion that the Hawaii congresswoman is being groomed by Russia to help elect Trump. During an interview with HOT 97 — the full interview is available on YouTube — the 44-year-old serial entrepreneur doubled down on his defense, suggesting that Clinton’s accusations were off-base.

“I do not think that Tulsi Gabbard is a Russian asset, no,” he said. “And the other thing is if you’re gonna drop that kinda sh*t, you better have some real facts behind it. Instead, it’s like innuendo, like ‘a candidate.’ That’s like, ‘are you kidding me?’ She’s a freaking major in the U.S. National Guard. You’re gonna like drop that stuff casually?”

Yang also addressed Trump’s decision to jump into the fray and attack Clinton for her comments, suggesting that Trump was jumping at any opportunity to contrast himself with the former Democratic presidential candidate.

Per The Hill, Yang previously took to Twitter after Clinton’s accusations, saying that Gabbard deserves “much more respect and thanks,” highlighting that the 38-year-old congresswoman recently returned from serving in the U.S. Army abroad.

As for Gabbard, she didn’t mince her words when responding to Clinton’s attack.

“You, the queen of warmongers, embodiment of corruption, and personification of the rot that has sickened the Democratic Party for so long, have finally come out from behind the curtain.”

During a recent op-ed for the Wall Street Journal, Gabbard ripped into Clinton’s legacy. According to Gabbard, she is running for president to “undo” this legacy and suggested that the “foreign-policy catastrophes” that defined Clinton’s presidency were what pushed her to leave the Democratic National Committee (DNC) to endorse Bernie Sanders.

Gabbard’s decision to defy the DNC is what many believe sparked the attacks on her from both Clinton and mainstream media outlets. The 38-year-old also used her op-ed to highlight that the clash between her and Clinton isn’t merely a “petty” fight, but a reflection of the contrasting views between the two candidates. She also suggested that many of the other Democratic candidates mirror Clinton’s approach to foreign policy and focus on continuing to get involved in regime change wars with taxpayer money.

At the October debate, Gabbard said she believed Yang’s proposal of universal basic income (UBI) is a “good idea,” per BuzzFeed News. Along with Sanders and Marianne Williamson, both Yang and Gabbard are considered to be outsider candidates that frequently face scrutiny and dismissiveness from mainstream media outlets.