Rep. Justin Amash (I-Mich.) knocked Hillary Clinton for suggesting that 2020 Democratic hopeful Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-Hawaii) was being groomed by Russia to run as a third-party candidate, arguing the attack only helps President Trump’s reelection efforts.
“The thing we know for sure is that Hillary Clinton is a Donald Trump asset,” Amash, a vocal Trump critic, tweeted late Friday. “Hillary does — and did — drive many people into the arms of Donald Trump. Her attack on Tulsi does likewise.”
Clinton on Friday warned during a podcast interview that Russia was poised to meddle in the next U.S. presidential election through online disinformation efforts, and she said Moscow could attempt to sow chaos by encouraging a third-party candidate.{mosads}
“She’s the favorite of the Russians. They have a bunch of sites and bots and other ways of supporting her so far,” Clinton said in an apparent reference to Gabbard, who has faced unfounded speculation that her campaign is being amplified by bots and online trolls.
Gabbard later Friday unleashed an attack on the former secretary of State and 2016 Democratic presidential nominee, calling her the “queen of warmongers” and the “personification of the rot that has sickened the Democratic Party.”
“From the day I announced my candidacy, there has been a concerted campaign to destroy my reputation. We wondered who was behind it and why. Now we know — it was always you,” she said, challenging Clinton to join the primary instead of “cowardly hid[ing] behind your proxies.”