Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard warned of a “nuclear holocaust” and chastised “warmongers” for bringing the world “closer to the brink of nuclear annihilation than ever before” in a foreboding video posted to social media on Tuesday.
In the three-minute video, Gabbard details a recent visit to Hiroshima, Japan to learn more about the aftermath of the U.S. nuclear attack on the city in 1945 during World War II. The video features footage of Gabbard’s trip and archival footage showing victims, interspersed with Gabbard speaking directly to camera about the consequences of a nuclear attack.
Gabbard then warns that, because today’s nuclear weapons are stronger than the one used by the U.S. in 1945, “a single nuclear weapon today could kill millions in just minutes.”
“This is the reality of what’s at stake, what we are facing now,” Gabbard says in the video. “Because as we stand here today, closer to the brink of nuclear annihilation than ever before, political elite warmongers are carelessly fomenting fear and tensions between nuclear powers.” Gabbard went on to suggest that powerful people are confident they’d have access to “nuclear shelters” and would therefore be unaffected by any consequences.
“It’s up to us, the people, to speak up and demand an end to this madness. We must reject this path to nuclear war and work toward a world where no one has to live in fear of a nuclear holocaust,” she continues.
It’s unclear when the video was made, but Gabbard traveled to Japan last week, where she visited a U.S. military base alongside U.S. Ambassador to Japan George Glass. Gabbard did not visit Hiroshima during her first trip to Japan as DNI in March, according to a readout from her office.
The Office of the Director of National Intelligence did not immediately respond to requests for clarification about the video, including if it was made with government resources.
Gabbard’s comments come as the Trump administration continues negotiations with Iran over a nuclear deal. Trump told reporters on Monday Iran rejected a U.S. proposal that would have stopped the nation from enriching uranium — fuel that could be used to build nuclear weapons.
The former Democratic congresswoman and presidential candidate has a long history of criticizing war hawks and warning of nuclear war prior to her endorsing then-candidate Donald Trump for president and switching parties last year. During her presidential campaign launch in 2019, she warned the world is “on the precipice of nuclear war,” and she was a strong advocate for strengthening nuclear treaties while in Congress.
“The warmongers are trying to drag us into WW3, which can only end in one way: nuclear annihilation and the suffering and death of all our loved ones,” Gabbard wrote in a post on X in 2023. “Zelensky, Biden, NATO, congressional and media neocons are insane. And we are insane if we passively allow them to lead us into this holocaust like sheep to the slaughter.”
