Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-HI) tweeted out a profane rebuke Wednesday of President Trump after Trump indicated that the United States would not take action against Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman over the murder of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
Hey @realdonaldtrump: being Saudi Arabia’s bitch is not “America First.”
— Tulsi Gabbard (@TulsiGabbard) November 21, 2018
Gabbard’s remark drew some criticism of her own dealings with Syrian president Bashar al-Assad. She met with him in an unannounced trip in January 2017 and was skeptical that he was behind the deadly chemical weapons attack in April 2017.
Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-IL) responded to her tweet highlighting her friendliness towards Assad.
And how would you describe your fondness for Assad? Asking for the 500,000 Syrians he murdered... including the 50,000 children who gasped their last breath because of him. https://t.co/5Ezre1lWwO
— Adam Kinzinger (@RepKinzinger) November 21, 2018
Trump argued in a statement that hurting U.S. relations with Saudi Arabia would be a mistake.
"We may never know all of the facts surrounding the murder of Mr. Jamal Khashoggi," he said. "In any case, our relationship is with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. They have been a great ally in our very important fight against Iran."
“We have taken strong action against those already known to have participated in the murder,” he emphasized. “After great independent research, we now know many details of this horrible crime. We have already sanctioned 17 Saudis known to have been involved in the murder of Mr. Khashoggi, and the disposal of his body.”
"It's a very simple equation for me. I'm about make America great again and I'm about America first," he concluded.