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- Tulsi Gabbard was a congresswoman representing Hawaii for four terms
- Gabbard ran for president in 2020 and later endorsed Joe Biden
- Gabbard announced she was leaving the Democratic party in a video message in October 2022.
Tulsi Gabbard endorsed former President Donald Trump’s bid for the White House on August 26 at the National Guard Association’s annual meeting in Michigan. And now, she has formally announced her decision to join the Republican Party at a Trump rally in North Carolina—a key swing state in the upcoming election—on Tuesday, October 22.
In 2022, Gabbard, 43, announced her departure from the Democratic Party in a video message posted to X on Oct. 11. The 2020 presidential candidate, who has since become a regular and outspoken guest on Fox News, outlined a long list of reasons for her decision to leave the party in the video.
“I can no longer remain in today’s Democratic party that’s under the complete control of an elitist cabal of warmongers, who are driven by cowardly woke-ness, who divide us by racializing every issue and stoking anti-white racism, who actively work to undermine our God-given freedoms that are enshrined in our Constitution, who are hostile to people of faith and spirituality, who demonize the police but protect criminals at the expense of law-abiding Americans, who believe in open borders, who weaponize the national security state to go after their political opponents, and above all, who are dragging us ever closer to nuclear war,” she said while providing broad talking points about her grievances.
After listing her reasons, Gabbard called on more Democrats to leave the party. “I believe in a government that’s of the people, by the people, and for the people. Unfortunately, today’s Democratic party does not. Instead, it stands for a government that is of, by, and for the powerful elite. Now, I’m calling on my fellow common sense, independent-minded Democrats to join me in leaving the Democratic party,” she said.
Find out more about the former congresswoman here.
1. She Made History as the First Hindu and Samoan Congressperson in US History
Gabbard is from Leloaloa, a small village on Tutuila Island in American Samoa. She made history in 2012 by becoming the first Samoan member of Congress, representing Hawaii’s second district for four terms.
Gabbard did not seek re-election in 2020 due to her presidential run. Raised in a multi-faith family practicing both Christianity and Hinduism, she is also the first Hindu congressperson. Additionally, along with Illinois Senator Tammy Duckworth, Gabbard is one of the first female combat veterans ever elected to Congress—and she holds the distinction of being the first female combat veteran to run for president.
Since leaving Congress, Gabbard has launched a podcast called The Tulsi Gabbard Show and has made multiple appearances on Fox News and comedian Joe Rogan‘s podcast. Additionally, she spoke at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in February 2022, further aligning herself with conservative circles.
2. She Made History as the Youngest Person Elected to Hawaii’s State Legislature
Gabbard was just 21 years old when she joined the Hawaii House of Representatives in 2002, serving in office for two years.
Had she won the 2020 election, she would have become the youngest president in United States history at 39 years old. The record for the youngest president currently belongs to Theodore Roosevelt, who was 42 when he assumed the presidency.
3. She Is a Combat Veteran
She left the Hawaii State House of Representatives in 2004 to deploy with the Hawaii National Guard in a medical unit to Iraq. She volunteered for another deployment in 2008, that time as a “military police platoon leader training counterterrorism units,” per a profile from The Atlantic. In between the deployments, she graduated at the top of her class from an Officer Candidate School in Alabama.
4. She Ran for President in 2020
Long before she left the Democratic party, Gabbard was on the primary ticket in the 2020 election in an attempt to run against Trump. The Democratic representative from Hawaii made the announcement on Jan. 11, 2019, telling CNN’s Van Jones, “I have decided to run and will be making a formal announcement within the next week…There are a lot of reasons for me to make this decision. There are a lot of challenges that are facing the American people that I’m concerned about and that I want to help solve.”
She explained that the key issues that her campaign focused on included healthcare, criminal justice reform, and climate change. “There is one main issue that is central to the rest, and that is the issue of war and peace,” Gabbard said during her announcement on CNN. “I look forward to being able to get into this and to talk about it in depth.”
5. She was the Vice Chair of the Democratic National Committee until resigning
Gabbard gave up the position to endorse Senator Bernie Sanders’ bid for the 2016 presidential race. After resigning and supporting the Vermont senator, she later ran against Sanders in the 2020 election.
Important announcement.
From Oahu, Hawaiʻi. #StandWithTulsi pic.twitter.com/XcHshtgVYA— Tulsi Gabbard 🌺 (@TulsiGabbard) March 19, 2020
After they both dropped out, they each endorsed President Joe Biden. “It’s clear that Democratic primary voters have chosen Vice President Joe Biden to be the person who will take on President Trump in the general election,” she said in a March 2019 announcement video. “I’m confident that he will lead our country, guided by the spirit of aloha respect, and compassion, and thus help heal the divisiveness that has been tearing our country apart.”