After the former Democratic criticized NATO members on Fox, McGrath tore into her.
The criticism
“They expect us to put up the lives of my brothers and sisters in uniform,” Gabbard said, “when they are not even willing to do that for themselves.”
Hitting back
“Hey Tulsi,” McGrath wrote on X. “I realize you didn’t deploy to Afghanistan. But I did twice, and I can tell you that our NATO brothers and sisters were right there alongside us for two decades.”
Tour of service
McGrath made history in 2002 when she became the first woman to fly a combat mission for the US Marines. She later became the first woman to pilot a F/A-18 in combat for the US Marines.
Total service
Across twenty years of service, McGrath logged more than two thousand hours in flight across over 85 missions.
Meanwhile
Gabbard is a US Army Reserve officer. She served a 12-month tour in Iraq with the Medical Company. She was also stationed in Kuwait as an Army Military Police officer.
Criticism context
Gabbard’s criticism of NATO followed similar attacks by Trump. In early February, the former president drew criticism for saying he would “encourage” enemies — like Russia — to “do whatever the hell they want” to NATO members who didn’t meet their payment targets.
Specific words
“I said: ‘You didn’t pay? You’re delinquent?’” Trump said, recounting a conversation he had with an unnamed European president who asked if the US would assist a nation that didn’t meet its financial goals. “‘No, I would not protect you.’ In fact, I would encourage them to do whatever they want. You gotta pay.”
Firing back
The White House slammed Trump’s comments as “appalling and unhinged.” A spokesman said Trump was “encouraging invasions of our closest allies by murderous regimes.”
Too far
One analyst told the BBC, “Playing hardball with NATO allies is correct, but it all depends on how far you go. These comments are too far, really.”
Really anti-war?
In 2019, when Gabbard was competing in the Democratic presidential primary, International Policy Digest described her as “one of the most controversial figures” in the race. According to the organization, being anti-war is “her biggest selling point,” but in reality, she is similar to Obama in her support for drone strikes, which “necessarily leads to unending warfare.”
The reality
According to Caroline Orr, Gabbard “has accepted huge sums of money from the defense industry, expressed support for increasing the use of drone strikes, and hinted that she would consider using torture if she thought it was necessary. And like Trump, she believes in putting “America first,” regardless of the global consequences. She isn’t “anti-war” — she’s a nationalist, hiding behind a mask of anti-interventionism.”
Russia asset
In 2022, shortly after Russia invaded Ukraine, Senator Mitt Romney slammed Gabbard’s false claims about US-sponsored biolabs in Ukraine as “treasonous lies.” “Tulsi Gabbard is parroting false Russian propaganda,” Romney wrote on X.
Party change
In October 2022, Gabbard announced that she had left the Democratic Party. She switched to Independent.
Real liberal?
However, progressives have accused Gabbard of having conservative sympathies at minimum, in part due to her willingness to appear on far-right shows like Tucker Carlson Tonight. She also gave an address at the 2022 Conservative Political Action Conference.
Supporting authoritarianism
Additionally, Gabbard has drawn criticism for her support for India’s Narendra Modi and Syria’s Bashar al-Assad. The latter has been accused of committing war crimes against his own populace during the Syrian Civil War.
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