During an interview Tuesday on the “Campaign HQ” podcast with Barack Obama’s former campaign manager David Plouffe, former 2016 Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton said Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-HI) is being groomed by Russia to run as a third-party candidate to help President Donald Trump win in 2020.

Without mentioning Gabbard by name, Clinton said, “They are also going to do third party again. I’m not making any predictions, but I think they’ve got their eye on somebody who is currently in the Democratic primary and are grooming her to be the third-party candidate.”

She continued, “She is a favorite of the Russians. They have a bunch of sites and bots and other ways of supporting her so far. That’s assuming Jill Stein will give it up, which she might not because she is also a Russian asset.”

She added, “They know they can’t win without a third-party candidate, and so I do not know who it’s going to be, but I can guarantee you they will have a vigorous third-party challenge in the key states that they most need it.”

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