Tulsi Gabbard says Trump is making the US 'Saudi Arabia's b----' with his response to the oil field attacks

J. Scott Applewhite/AP; Leah Millis/Reuters

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

• President Donald Trump said he was "waiting to hear from" Saudi Arabia on the culprit of Saturday's drone attacks on two Saudi oil plants, "and under what terms we would proceed!"
• Many national-security experts noted that this looks like Trump was waiting on Saudi Arabia to make making decisions affecting the US.
• Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, who is running for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination, said Trump is making "our country act as Saudi Arabia's bitch."
• US officials have accused Iran of being behind the drone attack, which Iran has denied. Saudi Arabia has not blamed Iran.
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Rep. Tulsi Gabbard has described President Donald Trump's response to the Saudi oil plant attacks as "having our country act as Saudi Arabia's bitch."

The reaction came after Trump tweeted Sunday that the US was "waiting to hear from the Kingdom as to who they believe was the cause" of the drone attacks on two Saudi state-owned oil plants, "and under what terms we would proceed!"

Gabbard, who is vying for the Democratic nomination in the 2020 presidential election, tweeted in response on Monday: "Trump awaits instructions from his Saudi masters. Having our country act as Saudi Arabia's bitch is not 'America First.'"

Gabbard has attacked Trump's relationship with Saudi Arabia before, and used the insult "Saudi Arabia's bitch" in November 2018 as well. Her policy platform includes ending the US alliance with Saudi Arabia.

Gabbard's own Middle East policy has also been attacked, particularly her choice in 2017 to meet Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, an accused war criminal and foe of Saudi Arabia.

VIDEOS OBTAINED BY REUTERS/via REUTERS

Smoke seen following a drone attack and a fire at Saudi Aramco's factory in Abqaiq, Saudi Arabia, on Saturday.

US officials have blamed Iran for the drone attacks on two oil refineries belonging to the state-owned Saudi Aramco on Saturday morning.

The accusation came despite the Iranian-backed arm of the Houthi rebels in Yemen claiming that it, not Iran, is responsible for the attack. Iran has denied the US's accusations.

Many national-security experts also shared Gabbard's criticism.

Ben Rhodes, who worked as former President Barack Obama's Deputy National Security Advisor for Strategic Communications, tweeted on Sunday: "Just the President saying he will do whatever the Saudis want, including potentially going to war on their behalf."

Tamara Cofman Wittes, a senior fellow at Brookings Institution's Center for Middle East Policy, also said that Trump's tweet suggests "we are now subcontracting our national security policy to the crown prince of Saudi Arabia," referring to the de facto ruler of the kingdom, Mohammed bin Salman.

The historian and Princeton University professor Kevin M. Kruse tweeted sarcastically: "As everyone knows, Article I of the US Constitution clearly states that the power to declare war is vested with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia."

Trump has long touted his relationship with Saudi Arabia, and consistently covered up for Crown Prince Mohammed despite his links to the murder of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

Pool/Getty Images

The drone attacks mark a new flare-up between US-Iranian tensions. Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammed Javad Zarif on Sunday accused his counterpart Mike Pompeo of "max deceit" in response to Pompeo's pointing the finger at Iran.

Read more: The world's oil producers keep a massive amount of capacity in reserve. But it's almost all in Saudi Arabia and the drone attack messed with that too.

Saudi Arabia has not blamed Iran for the attacks.

Saudi Aramco has since shut down operations on 5% of the world's daily crude oil production and reportedly canceled their long-awaited, upcoming IPO. Oil prices have also surged up to 20%.