Obama administration official Jeh Johnson surprisingly stepped in to defend two of President-elect Donald Trump’s cabinet picks: former Democrat congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard for Director of National Intelligence and decorated Army veteran Pete Hegseth for Secretary of Defense.
During a Thursday appearance on CNN News Central, the former Obama administration Homeland Security secretary actually defended Gabbard and Hegseth — despite his entire party attacking Trump with the false narrative that Gabbard is a Russian asset and Hegseth is just a Fox News host.
Though Johnson did emphasize his opposition to Trump’s pick for Attorney General, firebrand conservative Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL), he argued that Americans should give Trump a little bit of grace on his other choices.
The conversation began with CNN host Sara Sidner pushing outright false claims about Gabbard being tied to Russia — a fake narrative that was pushed because Gabbard refused to toe the Democrat Party line and spoke out against prominent Democrats like twice-failed presidential candidate Hillary Clinton.
Hillary Clinton hates Tulsi Gabbard so much, she lied and tried to claim she's a Russian asset
Do you support Tulsi Gabbard as America’s next Director of National Intelligence ? 🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/hUWpRteoSW
— Ape𝕏 (@CubanOnlyTrump) November 14, 2024
“She has spread Russian propaganda. She has challenged the intelligence on whether President Assad used chemical weapons, which the intelligence said he had certainly done. And now she’s in this position to potentially head the high intelligence agency over all intelligence agencies. What does this mean? To you?” she asked.
“Well, I’m going to surprise you a little bit,” Johnson responded. “I don’t think that it is an absolute prerequisite that the director of national intelligence be someone of the intelligence community. I also believe that on occasion, it’s a good thing to be skeptical of the intelligence that we’re provided. Those of us who are in a position of making serious decisions, policymakers.”
“So being skeptical of what the intelligence community produces can be a good thing. And I’m thinking of the intelligence leading up to the Iraq war, for example,” the former Obama admin official added.
Sidner then changed the subject to Hegseth, who she also lied about, referring to him as “a Fox anchor” and only briefly mentioned his service in the Army National Guard — ignoring the fact that he served for 20 years, earned two Bronze Stars, and deployed to Iraq, Afghanistan, and Guantanamo Bay.
🚨AP: President Trump's selection of Pete Hegseth for Secretary of Defense stuns the Pentagon. It's over! Woke is dead!
Education: Princeton, Harvard
Military: 2 bronze Stars, Army National Guard, served in both Iraq and Afghanistan
"WASHINGTON (AP) — President-elect Donald… pic.twitter.com/IjBa43MWXZ
— AJ Huber (@Huberton) November 13, 2024
“Let me ask you about another controversial pick, a Fox anchor, Pete Hegseth. He did serve in the Army National Guard, but now he is up for secretary of defense. And, you know, he said a few things. He has lobbied for people who are accused of war crimes in Afghanistan. He recently said that women do not belong in combat roles. But you have said that you’d give him the benefit of the doubt. Why?” the CNN anchor asked.
“I’ll give him the benefit of the doubt,” Johnson replied. “Because here’s somebody who was well-educated, obviously intelligent, was in financial services, was in the Wall Street community for a while, could have made a lot of money and chose to leave that, put on the uniform of our country, and see combat. So I give him the benefit of the doubt for that reason.”
Johnson also noted that all of Trump’s picks will have to go through Senate confirmation hearings and will be vetted during that process. Meanwhile, the radical left has already begun weaponizing the deep state to stop every single one of Trump’s cabinet picks.
