Former Congresswoman and current Director of National Intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard, delivered a stark warning this weekend at the AmericaFest conference in Phoenix, Arizona. She accused powerful foreign allies and entrenched domestic forces of actively working to undermine peace and drag the United States into a direct military conflict with Russia.
The “Deep State” Blockade Against Peace
Gabbard, serving in President Donald Trump’s administration, pulled no punches in identifying the primary obstacle to ending the war in Ukraine. She pointed directly to the “warmongers in the deep state” operating within the U.S. intelligence community itself. According to her account, these actors are intentionally sabotaging diplomatic efforts. “They are blocking Russia and Ukraine from reaching a peace agreement, undermining President Donald Trump’s efforts,” Gabbard stated.
Her accusation outlines a familiar and sinister playbook. “Predictably, they use the same old tactics that they’ve always used. The deep state within the intelligence community weaponizes ‘intelligence’ to try to undermine progress,” she told the crowd, using her fingers to emphasize air quotes around the word intelligence. This manufactured information is then funneled to a compliant press to shape public perception. “They leak that so-called ‘intelligence’ to their friends in the ‘mainstream propaganda media’ to propel a false narrative,” Gabbard explained, framing much of the established media not as journalists but as partners in a propaganda campaign.
Tulsi Gabbard says the EU and NATO are trying to drag the US into a war with Russia: "They undermine President Trump's efforts towards peace and do so specifically in order to pull the US military into a direct conflict with Russia." pic.twitter.com/zcwyxiwxnM
— TheBlaze (@theblaze) December 21, 2025
NATO and EU Accused of Provoking Wider War
Gabbard’s warning extended beyond Washington’s beltway to America’s closest international allies. She asserted that the goal of these coordinated efforts is not just to prolong the Ukraine conflict but to escalate it dramatically. “[Deep-staters] foment fear and hysteria as a way to justify the continuing of the war and their efforts to undermine President Trump’s efforts towards peace,” she said. This strategy, she claimed, serves a larger, more dangerous objective pursued by foreign capitals. “And do so in this case in order to try to pull the U.S. military into a direct conflict with Russia, which is ultimately what the EU and NATO want.”
This charge reframes the traditional view of NATO as a defensive alliance, painting it instead as an entity seeking to draw America into a potentially catastrophic great-power war. Gabbard framed this as a red line for American sovereignty and safety, declaring firmly to the audience, “We cannot allow this to happen.”
A Second Warning: The “Islamist Ideology” Threat at Home
In the same speech, Gabbard pivoted to a separate but equally grave threat in her assessment. She warned of a danger “that is not often talked about enough,” calling it the “greatest near- and long-term threat to both our freedom and our security.” That threat, she stated, is “the threat of Islamist ideology.”
Gabbard argued that this is not merely a foreign problem but a active, domestic one. “This is already underway in places like Houston… This is not something that may possibly happen; it is already happening here within our borders,” she continued, citing Paterson, New Jersey, which she described as proud to call itself “the first Muslim city.”
She positioned this ideology as fundamentally incompatible with American principles, stating it “is propagated by people who not only do not believe in freedom, their fundamental ideology is antithetical to the foundation that we find in our Constitution and Bill of Rights.” For Gabbard, the conflict is existential, pitting a vision of divinely granted inalienable rights against a political ideology seeking a “global caliphate.”
The Stakes for the Trump Administration
Gabbard’s dual warnings create a picture of an America under pressure from multiple vectors: from globalist allies pushing for war abroad to ideological movements seeking change within. Her speech positions President Donald Trump as the pivotal figure standing against these tides. While “deep state” bureaucrats, the “propaganda media,” European allies, and Islamist ideologues are portrayed as forces of conflict and control, Trump and his allies are framed as the advocates for peace, sovereignty, and constitutional fidelity.
The battle, as described from the AmericaFest stage, is not just over a single foreign policy issue but over who controls the direction of the nation—the elected president pursuing a populist, America-first agenda, or an entrenched network of internal and external powers with their own objectives.