AP Withdraws Story Claiming Tulsi Gabbard Said Trump And Putin Were ‘Very Good Friends’

The Associated Press (AP) retracted a story Tuesday claiming that U.S. National Intelligence Director Tulsi Gabbard publicly referred to President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin as “very good friends.”

The outlet withdrew its story titled, “Gabbard Says Trump And Putin Are ‘Very Good Friends’ Focused On Strengthening Ties,” before publishing a correction clarifying that Gabbard was referring to Trump’s friendship with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the AP announced.

“This story was updated on Mar. 17, 2025, to delete erroneous reporting that U.S. Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard said President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin “are very good friends,’” the AP wrote in an editor’s note at the bottom of the story.

A spokesperson for the AP told the 🏢Daily Caller News Foundation that the initial report was removed from their site because “it did not meet standards.”

After the initial story’s removal, the AP published a corrected story with Gabbard telling NDTV on Monday that Trump is “looking forward to success” ahead of his upcoming call with the Russian president Tuesday afternoon.

“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 told India’s NDTV. “I’m sure that President Trump will have a very productive conversation with Putin, once again, rooted in his unwavering commitment to peace.”