Vatever you vant, Vladimir
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How did Trump shift U.S.-Russia relations?
It's officially been a month now, and to his credit, President Trump waited almost an entire month before doing a 180 on U.S.-Russia relations. Trump had a nice long phone call with Vladimir Putin about a week ago. Ukraine was not invited.
My call was perfect.
And then on Tuesday, Trump blamed Ukraine for being invaded by Russia. And then to top it off, on Truth Social yesterday, he called Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky a dictator without elections. Shortly thereafter, on that same website, Trump called himself a king. Totally cool, normal stuff. But you might be old enough to remember the United States being on Ukraine's side of this war. On Today Explained, we're getting used to this new normal, being BFFs with Russia. And we're going to start with the person Trump has put in charge of U.S. intelligence, a Russia sympathizer with no intelligence experience to speak of, named Tulsi Gabbard.
Who is Tulsi Gabbard and why is she leading U.S. intelligence?
On this week's episode of Net Worth and Chill, I'm chatting with internet sensation and everyone's favorite Philly influencer, Bran Flakes. He's a social media maverick and content creator turning viral moments into cold, hard cash. Listen wherever you get your podcasts or watch on the Your Rich BFF YouTube channel.
So what is the actual State of the Union?
This was like the Donald Trump show, and he was going to throw red meat to the people who love him anyway.
I'm Preet Bharara, and this week I'm joined by historian Joanne Freeman, columnist Frank Bruni, and commentator Jonah Goldberg on my podcast, Stay Tuned with Preet. We discuss Trump's address to Congress and how the country is holding up just two months since Inauguration Day. The episode is out now. Search and follow Stay Tuned with Preet wherever you get your podcasts.
This is Today Explained.
Vladimir Putin got his start as a spy, and now our top spy in the United States has a soft spot for Vladimir Putin. In fact, some people sincerely believe she's a straight-up Russian operative.
What is Tulsi Gabbard's background?
That is a charge that's been leveled against her. She's a favorite of the Russians. She once sued Hillary Clinton for $50 million for saying something along those lines.
I will not stand quietly by as Hillary Clinton or anyone else tries to smear my character.
I think that goes too far, but she has expressed sympathy for... Putin's dilemma.
You hear President Biden say, well, this is Putin's war. This is Putin's fault. It's Putin who's the one who's solely responsible. Well, the United States and some of these European NATO countries are fueling this war.
And for dictators like Bashar al-Assad, the former dictator of Syria.
Do you think Assad is our enemy? Assad is not the enemy of the United States because Syria does not pose a direct threat to the United States.
She has called for a pardon for Edward Snowden, the whistleblower who exposed illegal surveillance of Americans. You've celebrated Snowden as, quote, brave whistleblower. So she sounds more like a progressive politician sometimes than a establishment spy chief. And I think she would say that's kind of the point. We need a different perspective on top of the American intelligence system.
How did Tulsi Gabbard's political views evolve over time?
Steve Kahl is a senior editor at what I'm told is a leading magazine, The Economist, and he's here to help you understand who's just been put in charge of U.S. intelligence and how that might shift the course of U.S. foreign policy.
Well, she grew up in Hawaii in somewhat unusual circumstances. Her parents were members of a religious community called the Science of Identity Foundation, which was derived from the Hare Krishna branch of sort of meditation and yoga teaching. And the community that her parents belonged to and that she had considerable exposure to as a child was led by a charismatic guru named Chris Butler, who was a former surfer and college dropout who had lived on the streets as a Hare Krishna follower, but then started his own community. So one of Chris Butler's most adamant views, at least in the 80s and 90s, was an opposition to homosexuality, which he regarded as an abomination, but also to the establishment of rights for gay and lesbian couples. And as a teenager, Tulsi Gabbard found herself on the streets of Honolulu protesting alongside her parents against the establishment of gay marriage rights in Hawaii.
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Chapters
7 chapters
1
How did Trump shift U.S.-Russia relations?
0:01–1:00
2
Who is Tulsi Gabbard and why is she leading U.S. intelligence?
1:00–2:10
3
What is Tulsi Gabbard's background?
2:10–3:36
4
How did Tulsi Gabbard's political views evolve over time?
3:36–5:58
5
Why did Tulsi Gabbard align with Donald Trump?
5:58–8:09
6
What are Tulsi Gabbard's initial tasks as a spy chief?
8:09–9:43
7
How does Tulsi Gabbard view U.S.-Russia relations?
9:43–26:32