Rep. Tulsi Gabbard went after the hosts of Tuesday’s Democratic primary debate — CNN and The New York Times — calling their coverage of her “completely despicable.”

Speaking from the debate stage in Ohio, the 38-year-old Iraq War veteran accused the news media and politicians of pushing the conflict in Syria, which she called a “regime change war.”

“Not only that, New York Times and CNN have also smeared veterans like myself for calling for an end to this regime change war,” Gabbard said.

“Just two days ago The New York Times put out an article saying that I’m a Russian asset and an [Syrian President Bashar] al-Assad apologist and all these different smears. This morning a CNN commentator said on national television that I’m an asset of Russia.”



The congresswoman appeared to be referring to an Oct. 12 Times article entitled “What, Exactly, is Tulsi Gabbard Up To?”

Hours before the debate, CNN analyst Bakari Sellers called her a “puppet for the Russian government.”

Gabbard — who has been criticized for meeting with Assad during a 2017 trip to war-torn Syria — called on Sen. Elizabeth Warren to join her in demanding an end to the conflict in the country.

Later, Gabbard and South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg sparred over President Trump’s decision to pull back US troops stationed along the northeast Syria border — which was seen as green-lighting Turkey to invade and slaughter Kurdish fighters and civilians there.

“Donald Trump has the blood of the Kurds on his hand, but so do many of the politicians in our country from both parties who have supported this ongoing regime change war in Syria that started in 2011, along with many in the mainstream media, who have been championing and cheerleading this regime change war,” Gabbard said.

“We need to get out, but we need to do this through a negotiated solution,” she added.

In response, Buttigieg, 37, an Afghanistan War veteran, said he thought Gabbard was “dead wrong.”

“The slaughter going on in Syria is not a consequence of American presence, it is a consequence of a withdrawal and a betrayal by this president of American allies and American values,” he said.

“A small number of specialized, special operations forces and intelligence capabilities were the only thing that stood between that part of Syria and what we’re seeing now, which is the beginning of a genocide and the resurgence of ISIS,” he added.