President Donald Trump doubled down Friday on his claim that Iran is dangerously close to obtaining a nuclear weapon — directly contradicting his own Director of National Intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard, and signaling a growing rift between the Oval Office and the intelligence community.
When asked by reporters what specific intelligence supports his assertion, Trump responded bluntly: “Well, then my intelligence community is wrong. But when the intelligence community said that, your Director of National Intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard — she’s wrong.”
Gabbard, the former Democratic congresswoman from Hawaii who broke with her party and later joined the Trump administration during his second term, has previously pushed back on alarmist claims regarding Iran’s nuclear ambitions. She has maintained that while Iran remains a long-term concern, the current data does not support the claim that a weapon is imminent.
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