Former Democratic Hawaii Rep. Tulsi Gabbard said Saturday that President Joe Biden “needs to apologize to the American people” for falsely accusing border patrol agents of “strapping” illegal immigrants from Haiti.
“I consider Joe Biden a friend. But he’s absolutely wrong and he needs to apologize to the American people for saying what he said,” Gabbard told Fox News’ “Watters’ World.” “And here’s why. He’s somebody who’s been very outspoken about being against autocrats and dictators. But what he essentially did was act as judge, jury and executioner for these customs and border patrol agents on horseback,” the former Democratic presidential candidate continued. (RELATED: Lara Logan Says Biden Is ‘Demonizing’ Border Patrol, ‘Decriminalized Crossing The Border’)
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“How can they expect to have a fair outcome to an investigation when the president of the United States has already declared their guilt and that they will be punished,” Gabbard said, noting that if America is no longer a country of laws where people are presumed innocent until proven guilty, then “we don’t have a democracy. And that’s an increasing feeling a lot of us have is we’re losing our democracy and moving closer and closer to what is essentially is an autocracy.”
Gabbard claimed that the border patrol agents have been falsely accused because “a powerful elite” is working with the media and “the deep state,” and “not acting in the best interests of the country.”
The former congresswoman said that if people seeking political leadership “are unwilling to sacrifice their interests for the interest of the country,” then “they have no business being in positions of leadership at any level of our society.”
Gabbard called for leadership that puts “service above self and the interests of the American people and our country first.”
Fox News host Jesse Watters suggested Gabbard call up Biden “on the phone and tell him your opinion.”
Democrats and media outlets have claimed that Border Patrol agents on horseback used their reigns to whip illegal immigrants from Haiti who were trying to enter the United States. However, the photographer who captured images of the alleged incident, Paul Ratje, said he never saw agents actually “whipping” the migrants. (RELATED: ‘I Think This Is Illegal’: Sen. Kennedy Says Fox News’ Drones Grounded To Hide ‘Lunacy’ Of ‘Open Border’)
TOPSHOT – United States Border Patrol agents on horseback try to stop Haitian migrants from entering an encampment on the banks of the Rio Grande near the Acuna Del Rio International Bridge in Del Rio, Texas on Sept. 19, 2021. (Photo by PAUL RATJE/AFP via Getty Images)
President Biden expressed his objections to the incident Friday, repeating the allegations and saying it was “beyond an embarrassment” for the U.S. and promised that the agents “will pay” for “people being strapped.”
During an appearance on “The View,” Vice President Kamala Harris said, “Human beings should not be treated that way and it also invoked images of some of the worst moments of our history where that kind of behavior has been used against the indigenous people of our country, has been used against African-Americans during times of slavery and so I’m glad that the Department of Homeland Security is taking it very seriously.”