Former Democratic Representative Tulsi Gabbard supported Donald Trump presidential candidacy, continuing her distancing from the party she sought to represent four years ago and tying herself to the Criticisms of the Republican candidate of the vice president Kamala Harris and the chaotic withdrawal from the war in Afghanistan.
Appearing with Trump in Detroit on Monday, Gabbard, a National Guard veteran who served two tours in the Middle East before representing Hawaii in the U.S. House of Representatives, said the Republican nominee “understands the grave responsibility that a president and commander in chief carries over each of our lives.”
The couple appeared at the National Guard Association of the United States on the third anniversary of the August 26, 2021, suicide attack The attack killed 13 U.S. service members and more than 100 Afghans at Hamid Karzai International Airport. Earlier Monday, Gabbard accompanied Trump to Arlington National Cemetery, where the former president laid wreaths for three of the service members killed: Staff Sergeant Nicole Gee, Master Sergeant Darin Hoover and Master Sergeant Ryan Knauss.
On Monday, Gabbard praised Trump for “having the courage to meet with adversaries, dictators, allies and partners in the pursuit of peace, with war as a last resort.” She condemned the Democratic White House for the United States now “facing multiple wars on multiple fronts in different parts of the world and closer than ever to the brink of nuclear war.”
The former president’s team announced later Monday that Gabbard would moderate a town hall meeting with Trump that the campaign planned for Thursday in La Crosse, Wisconsin.
Gabbard has long expressed some level of support for Trump, even while she served in the U.S. House of Representatives as a Democrat. In 2019, she was the only female lawmaker to vote “present” when the House of Representatives impeached Trump over his dealings with Ukraine.
During her four terms in the House of Representatives, Gabbard was known for her positions at odds with her own party’s establishment. She was an early endorser of Senator Bernie Sanders’ candidacy in the 2016 Democratic presidential primary, endearing her to progressives.
Not seeking re-election in 2020, Gabbard ran for president herself, arguing that America’s wars in the Middle East were destabilizing the region, making the United States less safe, and costing thousands of American lives, and that Democrats and Republicans shared responsibility. tore up Harris’ file in a primary debate and ultimately overtook her in that race, which President Joe Biden ultimately won.
Gabbard endorsed Biden but became independent two years later, claiming that the Democratic Party was dominated by an “elitist cabal of warmongers” and “woke” ideologues. She has since campaigned for several prominent RepublicansI became a contributor to Fox News and started a podcast.
Another former Democratic presidential candidate has also recently endorsed Trump. Last week, an independent candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. — who ran as a Democrat last year to challenge Biden for the nomination — suspended his campaign and said he supported Trump in the general election.
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Kinnard reported from Chapin, South Carolina, and can be reached at http://x.com/MegKinnardAP. McAvoy reported from Honolulu, Hawaii.
