(LifeSiteNews) — Former Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard has become the second high-profile former Democrat to endorse Republican Donald Trump for president.
Gabbard announced her support for Trump at a rally for the National Guard Association in Detroit on Monday afternoon.
“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,” Gabbard said.
FULL REMARKS: @TulsiGabbard — a 17-year veteran of the Hawaii Army National Guard, former four-term Democrat congresswoman, and former Democrat presidential candidate — endorses President Donald J. Trump. pic.twitter.com/zkK0BsPtCF
— Trump War Room (@TrumpWarRoom) August 26, 2024
Gabbard, a 43-year-old veteran who first deployed with the National Guard to Iraq in 2005, sought the Democratic Party’s presidential nomination in 2020. While her anti-war, populist-driven campaign attracted grassroots support, big money donors backed Joe Biden.
On Monday, Gabbard praised Trump for “having the courage” to speak with America’s adversaries during his first term in office to pursue peace. She also criticized the Biden-Harris administration for bringing the U.S. to the brink of nuclear war and for normalizing an “anti-freedom culture of political retaliation and abuse of power.”
“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,” she said Monday.
Gabbard’s endorsement comes just three days after Democrat-turned-Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. joined Trump at a rally in Arizona last Friday. The Democratic National Convention had concluded the night before.
Kennedy had told the crowd that he looks forward to serving in the Trump administration to help end childhood illnesses and the “chronic disease epidemic” facing America.
During an appearance on Fox News the next morning, Kennedy warned host Rachel Campos-Duffy about the harmful effects seed oils and food additives are having on our bodies.
Gabbard served in the U.S. House of Representatives for Hawaii’s 2nd Congressional District from 2013 until 2021. From 2013 until 2016, she was the party’s vice chair but resigned in disgust after the 2016 primary was rigged to ensure Hillary Clinton and not socialist Bernie Sanders, whom she supported, would be the nominee.
Gabbard was tapped by the Trump campaign earlier this month to help him practice for his upcoming September 10 debate with Kamala Harris, who has consistently refused to hold any press conferences with the media.
Conservatives expect the highly anticipated showdown will expose Harris for being inarticulate and unable to think on her feet, which she has been unable to hide during her time as Vice President.