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WASHINGTON: Tulsi Gabbard, a former Congresswoman, aspirant for the White House, a self-described Hindu-American, and a rising star who fell out with Democratic Party over national security issues endorsed Donald Trump for the US presidency on Monday, marking another victory for the MAGA Republican candidate who continues to lose support of moderate GOP stalwarts.
Drafted as a foil for Trump’s debate preparation, Gabbard, a four-time representative from Hawaii, a Democratic bastion, went against the tide in her home state and formally walked into the Trump camp accusing her former party and its presidential candidate of weaponising America’s institutions against both Trump and herself. She is also close to the rightwing eco-system in India, with a top RSS functionary Ram Madhav, among others, attending her 2015 wedding in Hawaii.
Gabbard has been cosying up to MAGA Republicans for months after differences over foreign policy and disquiet among her former colleagues who view her as a “Russian asset” because of her benign view of Vladimir Putin that is more in line with Trump’s outlook. She has famously clashed with both Hillary Clinton and Kamala Harris, and has accused them of being “puppets of the Military Industrial Complex and National Security State.”
Because of her outlier views, she was reportedly put on a domestic terror watchlist program called “Quiet Skies” that monitors airline passengers, a development that appears to have infuriated her. On Monday, she accused Kamala Harris, with whom she clashed during a presidential debate in 2019, of undermining civil liberties, saying, “We as Americans must stand together to reject this anti-freedom culture of political retaliation and abuse of power.”
Gabbard’s coming to the Trump fold on the heels of independent candidate Robert Kennedy jr endorsing him last week mitigates to some extent the moderate Republican bleeding from the MAGA ranks. At least six Republicans spoke and endorsed Kamala Harris at the Democratic convention last week.
Over the weekend, a dozen Republican White House lawyers who served in the administrations of then-Presidents Ronald Reagan, George HW Bush and George W Bush endorsed Kamala Harris for the presidency. Separately, more than 200 Republicans who worked for GOP candidates George Bush, John McCain, and Mitt Romney also signed a letter endorsing Harris.
The two camps meanwhile continued to duke it out over rules for the scheduled September 10 debate. The Trump campaign is now accusing Harris of chickening out of the engagement by seeking to change rules, including wanting mics for both candidates to be on all the time, and seating and reference notes for both.
Harris is also being pilloried — even by some Democrats — for continuing to avoid press conferences and one-on-one interviews.
Drafted as a foil for Trump’s debate preparation, Gabbard, a four-time representative from Hawaii, a Democratic bastion, went against the tide in her home state and formally walked into the Trump camp accusing her former party and its presidential candidate of weaponising America’s institutions against both Trump and herself. She is also close to the rightwing eco-system in India, with a top RSS functionary Ram Madhav, among others, attending her 2015 wedding in Hawaii.
Gabbard has been cosying up to MAGA Republicans for months after differences over foreign policy and disquiet among her former colleagues who view her as a “Russian asset” because of her benign view of Vladimir Putin that is more in line with Trump’s outlook. She has famously clashed with both Hillary Clinton and Kamala Harris, and has accused them of being “puppets of the Military Industrial Complex and National Security State.”
Because of her outlier views, she was reportedly put on a domestic terror watchlist program called “Quiet Skies” that monitors airline passengers, a development that appears to have infuriated her. On Monday, she accused Kamala Harris, with whom she clashed during a presidential debate in 2019, of undermining civil liberties, saying, “We as Americans must stand together to reject this anti-freedom culture of political retaliation and abuse of power.”
Gabbard’s coming to the Trump fold on the heels of independent candidate Robert Kennedy jr endorsing him last week mitigates to some extent the moderate Republican bleeding from the MAGA ranks. At least six Republicans spoke and endorsed Kamala Harris at the Democratic convention last week.
Over the weekend, a dozen Republican White House lawyers who served in the administrations of then-Presidents Ronald Reagan, George HW Bush and George W Bush endorsed Kamala Harris for the presidency. Separately, more than 200 Republicans who worked for GOP candidates George Bush, John McCain, and Mitt Romney also signed a letter endorsing Harris.
The two camps meanwhile continued to duke it out over rules for the scheduled September 10 debate. The Trump campaign is now accusing Harris of chickening out of the engagement by seeking to change rules, including wanting mics for both candidates to be on all the time, and seating and reference notes for both.
Harris is also being pilloried — even by some Democrats — for continuing to avoid press conferences and one-on-one interviews.
