Politics
NEW: General Flynn Gives Update On ‘Rift’ Between Trump And Tulsi: ‘That Was A Setup’
General Mike Flynn is claiming that a “setup” was in the works all along to sow divisions in the upper echelon on the Trump administration, he explained in a recent interview.
Speaking with conservative influencer Benny Johnson, the former Trump military advisor claimed that Tulsi Gabbard, Trump’s embattled director of national intelligence, was sabotaged when she declared during a recent congressional hearing that Iran is far from finishing its work on a nuclear weapon. The remark was quickly rebutted by Trump, who said he didn’t “care” what Gabbard had to say as he contemplates whether to bomb the country.
“I’m trying to do my part to help them,” Flynn said. “Tulsi Gabbard is effective.”
He is the second person near President Trump to speak up in defense of Gabbard since her remarks, ones she quickly obfuscated with the release of a video warning about the perils of nuclear war, which wasn’t run by the White House. Vice President J.D. Vance previously offered a full-throated defense of Gabbard on social media.
Since her testimony, the former Democratic congresswoman has found herself iced out of the Situation Room and other war-gaming between Trump and top military advisors, though they have downplayed her absence as unrelated to his displeasure with her comments.
“Has she got all the requisite skills and background? No. But she’s somebody who has the ear of the president. I still believe she has [his] trust and confidence because we cannot give up,” said Flynn.
Flynn, who served former President Barack Obama before being tapped by President Trump to serve as his top national security advisor during his first administration, reasoned that officials in the intelligence community may have sought to head off war with Iran by allowing Gabbard to offer testimony contradiction Trump’s assertion that Iran is closer than ever to developing nuclear capabilities.
“I believe that particular testimony, where she talked about Iran not having nuclear weapons, to me… and I believe this, I’ll say it here: That was a setup,” he alleged. “She’s only a couple of weeks into the job. She’s taken what the intel, the smartest people in our intelligence community, say about something, and she presents it. Until she can get in and figure out what’s going on and build a team around her that she can trust… Below the level of people at the top — the Cabinet officials, the couple of people who were put into the jobs — most of those people were put in by Obama, and then they were strengthened by the Biden administration.”
The ranks of national intelligence were augmented with “special government employees” by the two Democratic former presidents, Flynn explained, the designation Trump gave to Elon Musk, allowing him to work for the government for 180 days before he must leave.
WATCH:
Gen. Mike Flynn says intel agencies are feeding DNI Tulsi Gabbard and other Trump Cabinet members false info to sow division:
“That one testimony where she talked about Iran not having nuclear weapons.. That was a set up. Takes what intel says and presents it.” pic.twitter.com/TLVltZBOox
— Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) June 19, 2025
“It’s wild that you’re saying Tulsi Gabbard may have been given some incorrect information in order to create some frictions there,” reacted Johnson, citing Signalgate and the widespread belief among conservatives that there remains no explanation for how a liberal reporter was added to a sensitive group chat with Trump’s top military leaders.
Flynn added that he’s drawing from experience.
“It happened to me. When I was the director of the Defense Intelligence Agency, my testimony… came back, and the White House had changed it. They had wanted me to say a certain narrative that Obama was talking about at that time.”
That’s why “I was let go,” he said.
