Another Prominent Democrat Jumps Ship to Endorse Trump
In another defection by a prominent Democrat, former Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard has endorsed Donald Trump for president in his bid to retake the White House. The former presidential candidate and Iraq War veteran cited her belief in Trump’s ability to “end the wars” and his common-sense approach to government as key reasons for her endorsement.
Representing Hawaii's 2nd Congressional District from 2013 to 2021, Gabbard is a Lieutenant Colonel in the Army National Guard, having deployed twice to the Middle East. She also served as vice chair of the Democrat National Committee (DNC).
“Donald Trump is the only candidate who has shown the courage to stand up to the powerful elite and the war machine that has driven our country into endless conflicts,” Gabbard stated in her endorsement speech. “He has consistently fought for a foreign policy that prioritizes peace and diplomacy over war.”
Gabbard’s endorsement comes after a tumultuous relationship with the Democratic Party. During her 2020 presidential run, she faced severe backlash from party leaders and was marginalized in debates and media coverage. She famously clashed with then-candidate Kamala Harris, challenging her record as California’s Attorney General, which Gabbard argued was inconsistent with the values of the Democrat Party. In one memorable debate moment, Gabbard accused Harris of keeping people in prison beyond their sentences to use them as cheap labor.
Harris dropped out of the presidential race without winning a single delegate and, after calling the eventual winner, Joe Biden, a “racist,” was chosen as his vice president. She denied Biden’s declining mental health issues right up to the moment party bosses forced him out of the race and anointed her to take on Trump.
Gabbard lambasted the DNC for what she said was a rigged primary process and subsequent personal attacks, including a charge by former First Lady Hillary Clinton that she is a Russian asset. The Biden administration put her on the Suspected Terrorist watch list.
“The DNC and their corporate media allies tried to shut me out of the debates, silence my voice, and erase me from this election,” she said. “Trump is not perfect, but he’s the best option we have to restore the Constitution and protect our freedoms,” Gabbard said.
With her military service, experience in Congress, and willingness to push back against the establishment, Gabbard’s endorsement of Trump is seen as a significant boost. “He’s willing to take on the establishment, and that’s exactly what we need right now,” she said as she joins Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., another former Democrat stalwart, in throwing her weight behind Trump.
Since exiting her party to become an independent, Gabbard has stood up for religious freedom and railed against censorship and what she sees as the dangers of the “woke culture.” She encourages Americans to “stand together to reject the anti-freedom culture of political retaliation and abuse of power. We can't allow our country to be destroyed by politicians who will put their own power ahead of the interests of the American people, our freedom, and our future.
Trump, who Gabbard is accompanying at campaign events, welcomed her support, calling her “a true patriot who has always put America first.”
"We know how important it is to have a commander-in-chief who values every single one of our lives and who has the strength and the courage to exercise all means of diplomacy, meeting with dictators, allies, adversaries, partners in the pursuit of peace, recognizing that war is always and should always be a last resort," Gabbard says in her stump speeches for Trump.
"I endorsed President Trump because he has those qualities, and he's proven that he is that commander-in-chief,” Gabbard says. “Kamala Harris has proven she is not. We are closer to the brink of nuclear war now than ever before, closer to World War III because of Harris and Biden and their policies. Kamala Harris is completely unfit to serve as our commander-in-chief.”