Donald Trump was reportedly ‘incensed’ after his intelligence chief, Tulsi Gabbard, shared an AI-generated video online depicting a nuclear attack on the United States.
The president is also contemplating the elimination of the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, which Gabbard, a former Democrat, currently leads.
Trump’s frustration with Gabbard has grown over recent weeks, according to a new report from Politico, but he has also been considering abolishing the DNI position since the beginning of his second term.
The clash appears to stem from Gabbard posting a video to X on June 10 that Trump felt was an effort to get him to reverse course on backing Israel’s campaign against Iran this month.
Vice President J.D. Vance came to Gabbard’s defense amid the reports of a tiff with the president.
‘Tulsi Gabbard is a veteran, a patriot, a loyal supporter of President Trump, and a critical part of the coalition he built in 2024,’ Vance wrote. ‘She’s an essential member of our national security team, and we’re grateful for her tireless work to keep America safe from foreign threats.’
The Daily Mail reached out but did not hear back from the DNI’s office on whether she is feuding with the president.
Gabbard posted to social media earlier this month an unauthorized three-minute video railing against the ‘political elite and warmongers’ and warning the world is ‘on the brink of nuclear annihilation.’
It appears President Donald Trump has soured on DNI Tulsi Gabbard and is considering getting rid of her position altogether, according to a new report
It came just two days after Trump met with people at the White House lobbying for the president to support Israel’s attacks to prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons capabilities.
Two people within the administration claim that Gabbard’s video angered Trump, who complained to associates that the Cabinet member spoke out of turn.
Someone close with the president said that he viewed the video as Gabbard warning him not to greenlight Israel attacking Iran.
And three people familiar with the situation claim that Trump personally told Gabbard of his disapproval.
‘I don’t think he dislikes Tulsi as a person,’ one senior administration official told Politico. ‘But certainly the video made him not super hot on her … and he doesn’t like it when people are off message.’
A reporter aboard Air Force One on Tuesday asked Trump about Gabbard’s declaration before Congress in March that Iran was not seeking to build a nuclear weapon.
‘I don’t care what she said,’ Trump replied. ‘I think they were very close to having a weapon.’
The intelligence chief in charge of overseeing U.S. spy operations released her dire warning about imminent nuclear war in a video showing devastating images and video.
The footage begins with Gabbard noting how she recently visited Hiroshima, site of the WWII nuclear blast in Japan.
Gabbard released a somber video to X on June 10 warning that the world is on the brink of ‘nuclear annihilation’ and included images and clips of her recent trip to Hiroshima, Japan
‘It’s hard to find the words to express what I saw,’ she says in the video.
‘This attack obliterated the city, killed over 300,000 people, many dying instantly, while others died from severe burns, injuries, radiation, sickness and cancer that set in the following months and years. Nagasaki suffered the same fate, homes, schools, families, all gone in a flash.’
As she spoke, the video cut to footage of blast victims in 1945 and the flattened skylines of the bombed-out city remains.
‘Yet this one bomb that caused so much destruction in Hiroshima was tiny compared to today’s nuclear bombs,’ she continued as renderings showed the colossal scale of modern day weapons.
Gabbard then delivers a menacing verdict: ‘We are closer to the brink of nuclear annihilation than ever before.’
Trump’s reaction to the video underscores a widening gap between the president and his top intelligence chief.
While it appears Trump already wanted to have the position of DNI folded into the CIA or another agency, the break with Gabbard might fast track that initiative.
Trump has talked in recent months about getting rid of Gabbar’s office completely, according to Politico.
And his previous actions – like moving to dismantle agencies like FEMA and the Department of Education – show he isn’t afraid to massively shake-up the structure in Washington.
It’s unclear what would happen to Gabbard if Trump nixed her job.
