Tulsi Gabbard, former Democratic congresswoman and presidential hopeful, has left many scratching their heads after aligning with Donald Trump. Enter Mikki Willis, conspiracy filmmaker extraordinaire, who claims he played a key role in Gabbard’s dramatic pivot from Bernie Sanders supporter to Trump’s pick for the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI).

Willis catapulted into the spotlight in 2020 with his infamous pseudo-documentary, Plandemic, which posited that the COVID-19 pandemic was engineered to benefit wealthy elites and called vaccines into question. Since that cinematic journey into the land of conspiracy, Willis has carved out a niche for himself in the anti-vax movement and has seemingly nurtured a close friendship with Gabbard.

In a recent Twitter post (can we even call it X anymore?), Willis reminisced about a pivotal 90-minute convo he had with Gabbard shortly after she withdrew from the presidential race. According to him, Gabbard’s disillusionment with the Democratic Party led her to seek him out, and he revels in the idea that he’s the voice of enlightenment that guided her.

In a whirlwind of conspiracy-fueled claims, Willis further elaborated on his close relationship with Gabbard during an appearance on a podcast, where he stated they have collaborated on various projects over the past 11 years. He’s currently hard at work on a documentary together, purportedly focused on the southern US border. Gabbard, once a rising star within the Democratic party, has come under fire for what many see as a betrayal of her values, now cozying up to the very people she once opposed. Willis’s embrace of fringe conspiracy theories, ranging from QAnon to vaccines inducing harm, might explain how he’s wrangled his way closer to the political sphere.

Meanwhile, Gabbard’s nomination for the DNI role has sparked outrage among Democratic lawmakers, who argue her lack of experience and ties to conspiracy theories raise red flags. In this political circus, she has effectively been transformed from a progressive darling to a controversial figure, eliciting mixed reactions across the political spectrum.

Willis’s penchant for spinning narratives and peddling conspiracy theories has now intertwined with Gabbard’s questionable choices, creating a spectacle that’s both bewildering and unsettling for many of her former supporters. As Trump’s proposed administration takes shape, it appears Gabbard is aiming for a starring role in the new reality, a far cry from her progressive roots.