National Intelligence Director Tulsi Gabbard has reportedly been sidelined in the Trump administration’s discussions about its options in the ongoing war between Iran and Israel ever since she posted a controversial video.
The former Hawaii representative was notably absent from a meeting with top officials on June 8 at Camp David to discuss the rising tensions in the area.
A White House official has since claimed Gabbard was only absent because she had to take part in scheduled training as a member of the National Guard.
But since she posted a terrifying video from her trip to Hiroshima, Japan last week, showing a simulation of San Francisco getting bombed and warning about imminent ‘nuclear annihilation,’ her standing within the Trump administration took a hit, insiders told NBC News.
The video is said to have irked White House aides, and when Trump saw the video himself he became incensed – complaining to associates that she had spoke out of turn as it came just days after Israeli military hawks met with Trump at the White House to try to get him to support Israel’s attacks on Iran, according to Politico.
‘I don’t think he dislikes her as a person… But certainly the video made him not super hot on her… and he doesn’t like when people are off-message,’ a senior administration official told the outlet.
He added that Trump also does not appreciate it when people appear to be correcting him and that ‘many took that video as trying to correct the administration’s position.’
The tensions seemed to come to a head on Tuesday, when President Trump apparently refuted Gabbard’s testimony to Congress in March – when she asserted the US intelligence community did not believe Iran was building a nuclear weapon.
National Intelligence Director Tulsi Gabbard has reportedly been sidelined in the Trump administration’s discussions about its options in the ongoing war between Iran and Israel
Insiders have claimed the president was left fuming after she posted a video last week warning about imminent ‘nuclear annihilation’
A person with knowledge of the situation told NBC News that the US intelligence community’s view on that matter has not changed.
But speaking to reporters onboard Air Force One, Trump declared: ‘I don’t care what she said.’
The National Intelligence Director now seems to be at odds with the president, who has repeatedly argued that Iran cannot get a nuclear weapon and is said to have prepared plans for a US attack on Iran.
Over the past few days, Gabbard has been pushed aside in internal administration discussions about the war, insiders have claimed.
Instead, they said Gabbard has been working behind the scenes to try to find a diplomatic solution – and even sought to enlist the help of European allies who have open communication channels with Tehran.
She has been a staunch opponent of US military intervention, railing in the 2024 election against the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and US assistance for rebels in Syria and Libya.
Gabbard even accused the Biden administration of bringing the US ‘closer to the brink of nuclear war than we ever have been before’ as she vowed to ensure the US no longer engages in ‘regime change’ wars.
Her more recent comments about the situation in Iran have incensed some Republicans, with Trump’s former national security advisor John Bolton declaring: ‘She shouldn’t be in that job.’
Sen. John Kennedy, a Republican from Louisiana, also told Jewish Insider Gabbard ‘obviously needs to change her meds.’
Gabbard, a member of the National Guard, has been a staunch opponent of US military intervention overseas
In her video from Hiroshima, Japan last week, Gabbard shared haunting images of San Francisco getting annihilated
A White House official who spoke to NBC News on the condition of anonymity further acknowledged that Gabbard’s isolationist views – which once made her a welcome part of Trump’s ‘America First’ team – are now making her an outsider.
‘If you adopt a Chihuahua, you should not be surprised that you have a Chihuahua,’ the official acknowledged.
Meanwhile, the White House has denied that there is any tension between Gabbard and the president.
They noted that she was with Trump and other top officials in the Situation Room on Tuesday – with one insider claiming the Trump administration even changed the time of the briefing to accommodate her schedule.
‘I think she is generally in OK standing,’ said one Republican operative familiar with the Trump administration’s thinking.
‘In situations like this, folks with more traditional Republican and neocon views are going to use the opportunity to minimize her influence,’ the operative said.
White House officials have denied there is any tension between Gabbard and Trump
It comes as the president is believed to have prepared plans for a US attack on Iran (pictured)
Some White House officials have even publicly shared their support for the Director of National Intelligence, with Vice President JD Vance on Tuesday saying: ‘Tulsi is a veteran, a patriot, a loyal supporter of President Trump and a critical part of the coalition he built in 2024.
‘She’s an essential member of our nat sec team and we’re grateful for her tireless work to keep America safe from foreign threats.’
White House spokesman Steven Cheung also claimed Trump ‘has full confidence in his entire exceptional national security team’ and insisted that ‘efforts by the legacy media to sow internal division are a distraction that will not work.’
In fact, Gabbard has argued that what Trump said about Iran’s nuclear program aboard Air Force One was actually consistent with her March testimony.
She noted that she told Congress that Iran’s stockpiles of enriched uranium were at their highest level.
Gabbard also said at the time, ‘Iran will likely continue efforts to counter Israel and press for US military withdrawal from the region by aiding, arming and helping to reconstitute its loose consortium of like-minded terrorist actors, which it refers to as its axis of resistance,’ according to Fox News.
She now insists, ‘President Trump was saying the same thing that I said in my annual threat assessment back in March; unfortunately too many people in the media don’t care to actually read what I said.’