Trump 'berated' intel chief and said she 'should not be in the administration': NY Times
U.S. President Donald Trump looks at Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, on the day of Gabbard's swearing in ceremony, in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., February 12, 2025. REUTERS/Nathan Howard
One of President Donald Trump's Cabinet appointees may be on her way out, according to a Friday report in the New York Times.
The Times' Julian E. Barnes, Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Swan are reporting that Trump recently "berated" Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard and telling her that he's been "disappointed" in her "judgment," following a video she posted condemning the United States' bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki during World War II. Two unnamed sources who were reportedly briefed on the conversation told the Times that Trump believed Gabbard was using her office to pursue her own political ambitions.
"He told Ms. Gabbard that he believed she was using her time working for him to set herself up for higher office," Barnes, Haberman and Swan wrote. "Mr. Trump told Ms. Gabbard that if she wanted to run for president, she should not be in the administration, one of the people briefed on the meeting said."
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And during a Friday evening press gaggle on the tarmac in Morristown, New Jersey, Trump said directly that Gabbard was "wrong" in her intelligence assessment that concluded Iran was not developing nuclear weapons.
However, the administration is now downplaying reports of any tension between Trump and his director of national intelligence. White House spokesperson Steven Cheung told the Times that Trump continues to have "full confidence" in Gabbard's capabilities.
"D.N.I. Gabbard is an important member of the president’s team and her work continues to serve him and this country well," Cheung said.
Trump's latest comments about his intelligence chief come on the heels of reports that he is apparently icing out both Gabbard and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth as he contemplates whether to commit U.S. military resources to helping Israel in its escalating conflict with Iran. The Washington Post reported this week that Trump has instead been communicating with a small circle of advisors consisting of Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State and National Security Advisor Marco Rubio, CIA Director John Ratcliffe and Gen. Dan Caine, who is chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
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Click here to read the Times' full report (subscription required).
