Since the moment President Donald Trump decided to name Tulsi Gabbard as his Director of National Intelligence, it was clear she was going to enter the job under fire.

The Wall Street Journal has targeted her. National Review has targeted her. The Washington Post and the New York Times and — let’s just say a veritable host of legacy media outlets and gossip rags have all run attacks on her. On X, she is a frequent target of internet gadflies who want her out of the job.

And now, just as she’s leaving office, The Washington Post lobs an “exposé” about her personal life and religious practices. Meanwhile, the so-called “journalists” have painfully little to say about her releasing the Fauci files — how he “provided millions in U.S. taxpayer dollars to fund dangerous gain-of-function research” — and ties to communist China. Keep focusing on the “real” scandals, journos; the rest of us have real work to do, and Tulsi Gabbard was a leader all the way to the end.

I know what leadership looks like. There are certain principles that define leaders — leaders who have the opportunity to shape the lives of countless people by the principles they embrace and how they apply them in times of friction. The unwavering pursuit of the truth, uncompromised moral clarity, steadfast honesty, and a disciplined yet passionate loyalty to the people they’re entrusted to lead — these are the high standards we should demand of our leaders.

Unfortunately, not everyone understands these principles or upholds such standards, and this reflects the mentality and motivation of her critics, who see her leadership and the principles she embodies as a threat to their narrative and institutional power, even as she leaves office under the most honorable of circumstances.

This is nothing new in the arena of politics, but for me, it’s personal.

The world may know her as Director, Representative, Lt. Colonel, or presidential candidate Gabbard, but to my daughters and me, she’s Tulsi. There is no one on this planet I trust more. She is also the first person I call when I need a real answer. Not a filtered one, not a safe one, not one designed to protect an image or position. She carries this mentality through every facet of her life and will continue to do so as she walks this next journey beside her husband.

Knowing Tulsi Gabbard is to know her answers are grounded in what is right, filtered through one standard: the Constitution. Nothing else factors into it. Not her own best interest, not what puts her in the safest position, not what is easy or comfortable, and certainly not what someone wants to hear.

In the political world, the cynic would assume this is how things operate: When someone speaks the truth, when they refuse to bend, play along, or say what is convenient, they should expect coordinated attacks. There are no facts or accountability involved. There are only carefully timed headlines and smear campaigns designed to sow seeds of doubt with the intent to bring that person’s character into question.

That is not journalism; it’s a playbook. And we should demand better — not only because Tulsi Gabbard deserves it, but because she holds herself to higher standards in everything she does. These are very large shoes to fill for the next DNI, and we should expect nothing less than the standard she set and her unwavering pursuit of the truth, despite attacks even from within her political sphere.

The attacks on Tulsi Gabbard weren’t just about her; they’re about what happens to anyone who refuses to compromise their principles for politics and power. So when outlets like the Washington Post and the Wall Street Journal published pieces aimed at discrediting her, I do not see journalism in the traditional sense. I see a familiar pattern: discredit the person so you don’t have to engage with what they are actually saying and doing. Create enough noise so people stop asking real questions. Turn truth into controversy so it becomes easier to dismiss. And allege, without basis, anything you want to claim based on the need to remove someone who doesn’t share your maximalist ideology.

That approach may work on people who do not know Tulsi. For those of us who have actually sat across from her, spoken with her, and understand how she thinks and operates, the narrative does not hold; it collapses under the weight of reality.

That Tulsi Gabbard was — and continues to be — a target is not a sign of a flawed leader; it’s often the clearest indicator of an unflinching, purposeful one. In life, you have to choose between being liked and being trusted. One is easy and more popular; the other actually matters when it counts. In today’s environment, Tulsi’s choices put her in the crosshairs of an establishment that looks suspiciously at those who choose truth over narrative and heartfelt belief over talking points.

When she decided to leave the Democratic Party, it was not because it was easy. It surely was not popular, and it wasn’t because it put her in a better position. She did it because she believed it was right. It harkens back to a line I like to recall from Theodore Roosevelt: “It behooves us to do our best to see that the standard of the average citizen is kept high; and the average cannot be kept high unless the standard of the leaders is very much higher.”

Tulsi Gabbard is a leader who sets a high standard. We are a better country for it and a better people for demanding and trusting such leadership. At some point, we have to decide what type of leaders we want — leaders who say what is convenient or leaders who say what is true? Do we want people who protect their position or people who protect the principles they swore to uphold? You will never get both.

What makes Tulsi Gabbard a trusted, principled leader — and a target — is not her title or position; it’s that she could not be easily influenced, redirected, or controlled by the systems that so many others learn to operate within. She did not shift with pressure. She did not abandon her values based on headlines. She never prioritized perception over principle. Until her last day, she continued to operate from a fixed point: the Constitution and the service of the American people.

That is exactly what this country claims to want. And when someone actually lives it, it’s interesting who they scare. So, thank you, Tulsi, for your commitment to service, for standing your ground in the face of your enemies, and for your decision to live by a high standard of principles, even in leaving office. A grateful nation, and a friend, bids you fair winds and following seas.

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Dakota Meyer is a United States Marine. A veteran of the war in Afghanistan, he was awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions during the Battle of Ganjgal on September 8, 2009, in Kunar province, Afghanistan. He is also a NYT bestselling author and the owner of DASH Hydrate.

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Dakota Meyer: Tulsi Gabbard Always Fights For America First