The Associated Press retracted an article on Monday after it falsely claimed that Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard called President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin “very good friends.”
“The Associated Press has withdrawn its story about U.S. Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard saying President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin ‘are very good friends.’ Gabbard was talking about Trump and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The AP will publish a corrected version of the story,” the AP posted in a correction after retracting the article.
The article covered comments Gabbard made during a trip to India as the U.S. intelligence chief. It was initially headlined, according to one post online, “Gabbard Says Trump And Putin Are ‘Very Good Friends’ Focused On Strengthening Ties.”
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,… pic.twitter.com/1chFZQqTEd
— Alexa Henning (@alexahenning) March 18, 2025
Gabbard made the comments in an interview with India’s NDTV. The AP’s corrected article focused on comments Gabbard made about Trump’s efforts to negotiate an end to the war between Ukraine and Russia.
“Under the previous administration, during which this war began, there was no effort, there was no effort at all towards peace. There was no effort to have direct dialogue with Putin and with Russia to try to bring about an end to this war. So already in a very short period of time, President Trump has made much more progress towards peace than any effort that has occurred by anyone, previously,” Gabbard said, according to the AP’s updated article. “I’m sure that President Trump will have a very productive conversation with Putin, once again, rooted in his unwavering commitment to peace.”
The error will likely deepen the gulf in the relationship between the Trump administration and the AP. The White House barred AP reporters and photographers from the press pool that covers the president. The AP is also banned from attending certain events. The White House blocked the outlet after it refused to update its stylebook to reference the “Gulf of America,” recently renamed from the “Gulf of Mexico” by a Trump executive order.
“It is a privilege to cover this White House. It’s a privilege to be the White House Press Secretary. And nobody has the right to go into the Oval Office and ask the president of the United States questions,” White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said last month after being questioned on the White House’s actions against the AP.
“I was very upfront in my briefing on day one that if we feel that there are lies being pushed by outlets in this room, we are going to hold those lies accountable,” she added. “It is a fact that the body of water off the coast of Louisiana is called the Gulf of America, and I’m not sure why news outlets don’t want to call it that, but that is what it is.”
