Former Hawaii Rep. Tulsi Gabbard has come full circle—although she was a 2020 candidate for president as a Democrat, she has now come out and formally endorsed GOP candidate Donald Trump for commander-in-chief.
After famously eviscerating then-candidate Kamala Harris in a 2019 debate, Gabbard has become increasingly disillusioned with her former party and has lost faith in their commitment to democracy.
Gabbard served as the Democratic representative for Hawaii's 2nd congressional district from 2013 to 2021, but announced her exit from the party in 2022 after denouncing it as an "elitist cabal of warmongers."
The former Democrat, who ran in the 2019 Democratic presidential primary against Harris, was recently recruited by Trump to help with debate prep ahead of his September 10 face-off against the vice president at the National Constitutional Center in Philadelphia.
Gabbard has become increasingly vocal in her criticism of Democrats and their weaponization of government. As we reported, she was put on the TSA’s "Quiet Skies” list just a day after criticizing the Biden-Harris team on Fox News. Quite the subtle move, DHS.
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Trump welcomed her at a National Guard event in Detroit Monday:
BREAKING: Trump just formally announced that Tulsi Gabbard, the former Democrat presidential candidate and DNC vice-chair, will be JOINING his campaign to destroy Kamala Harris
— George (@BehizyTweets) August 26, 2024
"She's got great common sense, great spirit, and she loves our country." pic.twitter.com/c5iqG8Z9q2
And today, I'm honored to officially welcome another true American Patriot, a 17-year veteran of the Hawaii Army National Guard, a four-term Democrat congresswoman. Very, very popular, the former vice chair of the national Democratic Party and a 2020 Democrat candidate for the United States presidency.
You know, she was a very good candidate -- every time she ran, she was good. She did well. She decided to leave, she couldn't take it anymore. But she is very special and I didn't know this, but she was a Lieutenant Colonel.
That's not bad, Lieutenant Colonel. Not bad. I didn't know that. You know, I just found out. I said "put it down." You gotta put that down. That's bigger. That's better than all the other stuff I read.
But no, she's a special person. She's got great common sense, great spirit. She loves our country, and she loves the people in this room.
Gabbard said her love of country trumped her devotion to a particular party:
"I am proud to stand here before you today, whether you're a Democrat, a Republican or an Independent," Gabbard said. "If you love our country, as I do, if you cherish peace and freedom as we do, I invite you to join me in doing all that we can to save our country and elect President Donald J. Trump and send him back to the White House to do the tough work of saving our country and serving the people."
Gabbard’s endorsement comes on the heels of another high-profile former Democrat’s announcement of support for Trump: Robert F Kennedy Jr., whose move sent shockwaves through the 2024 presidential campaign.
Pollster Frank Luntz: RFK Jr. Endorsement Could Very Well Push Trump to the Top in Key Swing States
Although the media and the Democrats are coming off their DNC high with their speeches centered on “joy” rather than on any specific policies that will help Americans, these Democrat defections are a sharp counterpoint and add serious momentum to the Trump campaign.
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