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"Her politics, which are otherwise incoherent, tend to be sympathetic to these two strongmen, painting America as the problem and the dictators as misunderstood," wrote anti-Trump conservative and former Naval War College professor Tom Nichols in an op-ed published by The Atlantic.

Gabbard, who was a Democrat until 2022 but critical of her party long before that, endorsed Trump in the 2024 election.

In a statement announcing her selection, Trump said that Gabbard would bring a “a fearless spirit” to the intelligence agencies and secure “peace through strength.”

Her deeply skeptical views of most U.S. foreign policy, including support for Ukraine, sympathy for dictators like Vladimir Putin and Bashar al-Assad in Syria and embrace of various conspiracy theories has earned her many critics who say that she would not pass muster in a Senate confirmation process.

Gabbard, like many other "America First" proponents, exempts Israel from her quasi-isolationist critiques, once describing pro-Palestine protesters as puppets of a "radical Islamist organization" and serving as a keynote speaker at a conference hosted by Christians United for Israel.