'You are not our pimp': Tulsi Gabbard accuses Trump of placing US troops under command of 'Islamist dictator'

by Emily Larsen, Washington Examiner, September 16, 2019

Rep. Tulsi Gabbard compared President Trump to a pimp while criticizing one of his tweets that indicated he would follow Saudi Arabia's lead in responding to an attack on one of the kingdom's major oil facilities.

"I've never engaged in hateful rhetoric against you or your family, and I never will, but your offering our military assets to the dictator of Saudi Arabia to use as he sees fit is a betrayal of my brother and sisters in uniform who are ready to give our lives for our country, not for the Islamist dictator of Saudi Arabia," the Hawaii Democrat said in a video posted to Twitter on Monday. "For you to think that you can pimp out our proud service men and women to the prince of Saudi Arabia is disgraceful, and it once again shows that you are unfit to serve as our commander in chief."

Gabbard, an Iraq War veteran who still serves in the Hawaii Army National Guard, continued: "My fellow service members and I, we are not your prostitutes. You are not our pimp." 

.@realDonaldTrump Despicable. Offering to place our military assets under the command of a foreign country—Saudi Arabia—is a disgrace and betrayal of my patriotic brothers and sisters in uniform and to our Constitution. We are not your prostitutes. You are not our pimp. pic.twitter.com/Cu1OewEMOC

— Tulsi Gabbard (@TulsiGabbard) September 16, 2019

Gabbard's video was a response to a Trump tweet from Sunday, in which the president wrote, "There is reason to believe that we know the culprit, are locked and loaded depending on verification, but are waiting to hear from the Kingdom as to who they believe was the cause of this attack, and under what terms we would proceed!"

Saudi Arabia oil supply was attacked. There is reason to believe that we know the culprit, are locked and loaded depending on verification, but are waiting to hear from the Kingdom as to who they believe was the cause of this attack, and under what terms we would proceed!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 15, 2019

Drone strikes hit major oil facilities in Saudi Arabia on Wednesday, which resulted in a half-day halt in oil production, about 5% of the world's daily crude oil supply, according to the Wall Street Journal.

In the video, Gabbard said that Trump's tweet was an offer "to place our military, our brothers and sisters in uniform, under the command of Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the dictator of the Islamist Kingdom of Saudi Arabia."