Trump calls Tulsi Gabbard 'hottest in the room', backs her explosive Obama-rigging claims

At a recent White House event, US President Donald Trump stirred fresh controversy by praising Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard as “the hottest one in the room” and endorsing her newly released report that alleges former President Barack Obama orchestrated a plot to rig the 2016 election.

“Oh, where’s Tulsi? She’s, like, hotter than everybody,” Trump said while gesturing toward Gabbard. “She has all the documents. She found out that Barack Hussein Obama led a group of people and they cheated in the elections.” He added, “They cheated without question. It’s not even a quote.”

“She told me, ‘You’ve seen nothing yet,’” Trump continued. “We’re very proud of you, Tulsi. They cheated so badly… and it shouldn’t have been a loss. It was a big victory.”


Gabbard’s report, recently made public, claims to present Obama-era communications that allegedly reveal attempts to manipulate the outcome of the 2016 election. While her findings reportedly show no tampering with vote totals—something previously acknowledged by multiple agencies—the report suggests this absence weakens the broader narrative of Russian interference, which has been upheld by several bipartisan investigations.

Reviving old claims, Trump once again accused familiar adversaries—Obama, Hillary Clinton, former FBI Director James Comey, and former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper—of conspiring against him. “Obama was the ringleader,” Trump declared, describing the alleged plot as an attempted coup.

Obama’s camp issued a rare public response, dismissing the claims. “These bizarre allegations are ridiculous and a weak attempt at distraction,” said spokesperson Patrick Rodenbush.

Gabbard’s release is the latest in a string of efforts by Trump allies to discredit past investigations, including the 2017 intelligence community assessment and Robert Mueller’s special counsel report. While Mueller documented extensive contact between Trump’s campaign and Russian actors, he stopped short of concluding a criminal conspiracy.

The timing of Gabbard’s report has also drawn scrutiny, coinciding with renewed public focus on the Jeffrey Epstein case. Though Trump dismissed that scandal as a “witch hunt,” questions about his past links to Epstein continue to fuel demands for transparency—even among his own supporters.