Associated Press retracts fake news story claiming Tulsi Gabbard said Trump and Putin were “very good friends” in yet another blatant display of media manipulation targeting the Trump administration.
At a Glance
- The AP was forced to retract a story falsely claiming Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard said Trump and Putin were “very good friends”
- Gabbard was actually referring to Trump and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, not Putin
- The AP issued a correction, admitting the story “did not meet our standards”
- Gabbard’s spokesperson blasted the AP as “total trash” for pushing a “purposefully bias media” narrative
- The retraction comes as the AP is already suing the White House after being removed from the press pool over a naming dispute
Another Media Misstep: AP’s False Reporting on Gabbard
In what can only be described as another glaring example of journalistic malpractice targeting the Trump administration, the Associated Press has been forced to retract a story that falsely claimed U.S. Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard stated that President Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin were “very good friends.” The fabricated narrative, which perfectly aligns with the left’s ongoing obsession with imaginary Trump-Russia connections, quickly fell apart when it became clear that Gabbard was actually referring to Trump’s relationship with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi during her interview with NDTV.
The Associated Press was forced to withdraw one of its Monday articles after it falsely claimed that U.S. Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard called President Trump and Russian President Putin "very good friends." https://t.co/shlh6usjiz
— Glenn Beck (@glennbeck) March 18, 2025
The Associated Press, realizing their egregious error, withdrew the story with a brief statement acknowledging that it “did not meet our standards.” In a subsequent notification to their customers, AP wrote: “AP has removed its story about U.S. Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard saying President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin ‘are very good friends’ because it did not meet our standards. We notified customers and published a corrected story with an editor’s note to be transparent about the error.”
Deliberate Bias or Incompetence?
Alexa Henning, a spokesperson for Gabbard, didn’t mince words when responding to the AP’s misrepresentation, calling out both the news agency and the reporter responsible for the fabrication. “I emailed @AP and @DavidKlepper and have so far heard nothing regarding their literal fake news article about the DNI. Won’t hold my breath,” Henning stated. She went further in another scathing critique of the outlet’s reporting standards and motives behind the error.
“The AP is total trash. DNI @TulsiGabbard was referring to PM Modi & President Trump and this is the headline they publish. This is why no one trusts the maliciously incompetent and purposefully bias media. If this isn’t a clear example of pushing a solely political narrative, then nothing is,” said Alexa Henning, Gabbard’s spokesperson. https://www.dailymail.co.uk/media/article-14512463/ap-fake-comment-tulsi-gabbard-national-intelligence-director.html
The original story, which has since been retracted, quoted an interview Gabbard gave to NDTV while in India for a conference. In the corrected version, the AP had to completely change the headline and focus of the article away from their manufactured Trump-Putin connection to instead highlight Trump’s anticipation of talks with Putin. The incident demonstrates how easily mainstream media outlets can twist words and create narratives that align with their political preferences while masquerading as objective reporting and yet are glaringly false.
Another Battle in the Media War
This retraction comes at a particularly contentious time for the Associated Press, which is currently engaged in a legal battle with the White House after being removed from the press pool. The Trump administration barred the AP from certain White House events due to their refusal to refer to the Gulf of Mexico as the Gulf of America, a terminology change requested by the administration. In response, the AP has filed a lawsuit claiming this exclusion violates their First Amendment rights, though the case remains ongoing.
The media’s antagonistic relationship with Trump has been evident in other recent incidents as well. The President himself called out Sky News for publishing “fake news” regarding an alleged nine-hour wait by his envoy Steve Witkoff for a meeting with Putin. “The Fake News, as usual, is at it again! Why can’t they be honest, just for once? Last night I read that President Vladimir Putin of Russia kept my Highly Respected Ambassador and Special Envoy, Steve Witkoff, waiting for over nine hours when, in fact, there was no wait whatsoever,” Trump stated firmly.
The Pattern of Media Manipulation
This latest incident with the AP is not an isolated case but part of a troubling pattern of media manipulation that conservative Americans have been pointing out for years. Notably, the only critic quoted in the AP’s original fabricated story was Russian chess player Garry Kasparov, while the corrected version highlighted Gabbard’s criticism of the Biden administration’s handling of the Ukraine war and her praise for Trump’s peace efforts. The stark contrast between the two versions reveals how carefully these narratives are crafted to push specific viewpoints rather than report facts.
The media’s willingness to immediately jump to conclusions that paint Trump in a negative light, without proper fact-checking or context, demonstrates exactly why trust in mainstream news outlets continues to plummet. When basic journalistic standards like verifying quotes and understanding context are abandoned in favor of pushing politically-motivated narratives, the result is exactly what Henning described – “maliciously incompetent and purposefully bias media” that fewer Americans trust with each passing day.
Even after publishing this completely false information, reporter David Klepper has not responded to queries about his reporting process or how such a fundamental error made it through the AP’s supposed editorial standards. The silence speaks volumes about the lack of accountability in today’s media landscape, where getting the story “right” takes a backseat to getting the “right” story out – particularly when it aligns with established anti-Trump narratives.
