MSNBC was forced to issue a live on-air apology after making false claims about Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard. The apology followed a segment in which the host accused Gabbard of endorsing controversial views that were later proven inaccurate. The correction came amid backlash from viewers and critics after Gabbard’s office labeled it " literal fake news.”
MSNBC host Stephanie Ruhle falsely claimed that Gabbard had praised the “good friendship” between President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin. After the network aired false claims about the former congresswoman, she was left with no choice but to issue a public on-air apology to Gabbard.
“Last night, we reported on excerpts of an interview between the Director of National Intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard, and an Indian TV news network in which she said that Trump was good friends with a world leader,” Ruhle said. “We said that the world leader was Vladimir Putin. The full interview shows that Gabbard was referring to Trump and Indian Prime Minister Modi. We've cleared that up.”
MSNBC guest host Ali Velshi was also forced to apologize during an episode of The Last Word.
“Now, we said that world leader was Vladimir Putin, but the full interview was subsequently released, and it showed that Gabbard was referring to Donald Trump and the Indian prime minister, Narendra Modi," Velshi said.
The interview Ruhle referred to came from an Associated Press report titled, “‘Gabbard Says Trump and Putin are ‘Very Good Friends’ Focused on Strengthening Ties.”
The article was later corrected to remove the false claim, accompanied by an editor’s note:
“This story was updated on Mar. 17, 2025, to delete erroneous reporting that U.S. Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard said President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin ‘are very good friends.’”
At the bottom of the story, the AP clarified that Gabbard was actually discussing Trump and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
In addition, the headline was revised to: “Gabbard says Trump is ‘looking forward to success’ ahead of talk with Putin.”
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