Hawaii congresswoman and combat veteran Tulsi Gabbard called Trump 'Saudi Arabia's b----'

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A composite image of President Donald Trump and Democratic Rep. Tulsi Gabbard of Hawaii.

• Tulsi Gabbard, a Democratic congresswoman in Hawaii, criticized Trump for standing by Saudi Arabia despite admitting they may have ordered the murder of Saudi critic Jamal Khashoggi.
• Trump defended his standing by the kingdom by saying he was putting "America first."
• Gabbard wrote on Twitter: "being Saudi Arabia's b---- is not 'America First.'"
• Gabbard has also drawn criticism over supporting Syrian President Bashar Assad and casting doubt on reports that his government uses chemical weapons on civilians.

Hawaii congresswoman and combat veteran Tulsi Gabbard slammed President Donald Trump by calling him "Saudi Arabia's b----" for his support of the country's leadership despite admitting they may have ordered the murder of Saudi critic Jamal Khashoggi.

"Hey @realdonaldtrump: being Saudi Arabia's b---- is not 'America First,'" Gabbard, a Democrat, tweeted.

In a statement on Tuesday, Trump refused to personally blame or take action against Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman, but admitted that he may have ordered the Khashoggi's brutal murder.

Trump argued that avoiding condemnation of Saudi Arabia's leadership helped the US pursue its interests abroad. "Very simply it is called America First!," the end of the statement read.

Read more: Trump's manic statement letting Saudi Arabia off the hook for Khashoggi reveals a dark US secret

Gabbard, a 37-year old Iraq War veteran, has been discussed as a potential 2020 candidate.

Gabbard has been vocal about the US' relationship with Saudi Arabia, and said last week that the US needed to end "support for Saudi Arabia's genocidal war in Yemen now."

Gabbard has also drawn scrutiny for meeting with Syrian President Bashar Assad without informing her party's leadership. Assad's use of violence to crush Arab-spring protesters in Syria launched a civil war in 2011 that continues to this day and has seen millions displaced and hundreds of thousands killed. Gabbard often come to Assad's defense, expressing skepticism that his government uses chemical weapons against civillians.

Trump said that he could not be sure if Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman, the de facto Saudi leader, was involved in the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, even as the CIA has reportedly assessed with "high confidence" that he ordered the killing.

"Our intelligence agencies continue to assess all information, but it could very well be that the Crown Prince had knowledge of this tragic event - maybe he did and maybe he didn't!," Trump said in Tuesday's statement.

Khashoggi, a Saudi journalist who lived in the US and wrote for The Washington Post, was killed inside the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul on October 2.

Screenshot/Twitter/Hatice Cengiz

The fiance of slain journalist Jamal Khashoggi posted a touching tribute for him on Twitter.

Trump's statement was met with widespread condemnation in response, even from top GOP allies.

Trump also stated that the close relationship between the US and Saudi Arabia helped keep oil prices low.

"After the United States, Saudi Arabia is the largest oil producing nation in the world. They have worked closely with us and have been very responsive to my requests to keeping oil prices at reasonable levels - so important for the world," his statement read.

He also thanked Saudi Arabia for keeping oil prices low on Twitter.