2024-08-28 07:50:03
Just days after former Democrat and independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced that he would be suspending his campaign and endorsing former President Donald Trump’s re-election bid, another former Democratic presidential candidate, Lt. Col. Tulsi Gabbard announced her support for President Trump’s campaign.
[RELATED: RFK Jr. Has Until Tuesday to Withdraw from Maine’s Ballot…]
“I know that President Trump understands the grave responsibility that a president and commander-in-chief bears for every single one of our lives,” said Lt. Col. Gabbard, a former U.S. Representative from Hawaii.
“We saw this through the first term of his presidency, when he not only didn’t start any new wars, he took action to de-escalate and prevent wars,” said Gabbard.
“This is one of the main reasons why I am committed to doing all that I can to send President Trump back to the White House where he can once again serve us as our commander-in-chief,” she said.
Gabbard’s announcement came at Arlington Cemetery on Monday, where Trump participated in a ceremony in which he laid a wreath in honor of service members killed during the Biden-Harris administration’s withdrawal from Afghanistan.
Gabbard, who ran as a Democrat during the 2020 primary, has since left the party after significant disagreements with many of its current policies.
Prior to her break with the Deomcrats, Gabbard, who is an active duty Lt. Col. in the National Guard, served as a representative for Hawaii from 2013 to 2021.
One of her largest disagreements with Democratic leaders came over President Joe Biden’s handling of the Ukraine war, which she believes has unnecessarily led the U.S. to the brink of nuclear war due in part to NATO’s eastward expansion.
Her relationship with the current regime has deteriorated in recent weeks, when she claimed that she had been included on a domestic terror watch list and was the subject of government surveillance by the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) as part of its Quiet Skies program.
Throughout her announcement, she focused on her belief that Trump will work towards bringing America away from the brink of war.
“I am confident that his first task will be to do the work to walk us back from the brink of war. We cannot be prosperous unless we are at peace,” said Gabbard.
She also criticized the current administration for using its political power to fight against its ideological opponents.
“We can’t live free as long as we have a government that is retaliating against its political opponents and undermining our civil liberties, weaponizing our very institutions against those they deem as a threat. Kamala Harris has done this over the last three-and-a-half years,” said Gabbard.
Like Gabbard, Kennedy cited the war in Ukraine as one of his primary reasons for endorsing Trump because, despite their serious political differences in many areas, he trusts Trump to bring peace to America.
“My friend and fellow former presidential candidate is joining President Trump’s team. Congratulations @TulsiGabbard. Can’t wait to join forces to end the wars, end the censorship, and Make America Healthy Again,” said Kennedy on X in response to Gabbard’s announcement.
Following the endorsements, Trump tweeted out a new campaign ad, which claims that Kennedy Democrats feel more at home in the Republican Party than they do in Vice President Harris’ Democratic Party.
