Presidential hopeful Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, D-Hawaii, said more of her fellow 2020 candidates should have condemned Hillary Clinton's comments about her being a "Russian asset," during a Tuesday interview with podcast host Joe Rogan.
Rogan asked how Clinton was able to level such an accusation, without being held accountable or being forced to produce proof, and Gabbard blamed the 2020 Democratic field and the media, for providing cover to the former first lady.
"It would be a good question for a normal person," she replied. "But when you look at the power of the Clinton machine -- when you look at the power of the political establishment ... when you look at the media establishment ... then you can see how somebody gets away with calling a sitting member of Congress, a candidate for president ... basically a traitor to the country that I love, and that I'm willing to lay my life down for. And to get away with it without any evidence or base whatsoever."
Rogan said he was shocked by the lack of response and claimed it was absurd to make such a claim without qualifying it to the public.
"Not just that, but no pushback," Rogan said. "No one said, 'hold on. What are you saying she is? You're saying she's a Russian asset. Define that. What do you mean by that? Do you mean an unwitting Russian asset?'"
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Gabbard said her campaign is feared by the political elite because she is aiming to shake up the status quo and prevent them from profiting off of the American people.
"We are battling the political establishment in Washington," she said earlier in the podcast. "I'm challenging the status quo that they represent and that they've profited off for a very long time."
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Gabbard credited those who stood up for her against Clinton but said the lack of response from the other candidates harms America's freedom of speech.
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"The danger here of what she did, and how the media responded, and how almost every single other candidate for president refused to comment, refused to denounce what she said. I think Bernie [Sanders] is an exception. Marianne Williamson, Andrew Yang -- a couple of them had the courage to say, 'hey, look this is ridiculous,'" she said.
"The fact that that was the response is really -- it has a chilling effect on our freedom of speech in this country and it sends a message."