Donald Trump has enlisted Tulsi Gabbard, the former Democratic Representative from Hawaii, to assist in preparing for his upcoming debate with Vice President Kamala Harris.
Gabbard, aged 43, recently participated in a strategy meeting with the 78-year-old ex-president at his Mar-a-Lago estate as he readies himself for the debate scheduled for September with the 59-year-old Democratic contender, according to the New York Times.
Previously a potential running mate for Trump, Gabbard has experience debating Harris from their time as candidates in the 2019 Democratic presidential primaries. During one of their debates, she delivered a fierce critique of Harris’ record as California’s Attorney General.
The Trump campaign has confirmed that Gabbard is assisting the former president, who is known for his aversion to conventional debate preparation, in his preparation for the upcoming confrontation with Harris.
“[Trump has] proven to be one of the best debaters in political history as evidenced by his knockout blow to Joe Biden,” campaign spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt told the Times.
“He does not need traditional debate prep but will continue to meet with respected policy advisers and effective communicators like Tulsi Gabbard, who successfully dominated Kamala Harris on the debate stage in 2020,” she added.
During a primary debate in July 2019, Gabbard harshly criticized Harris’ tenure as California’s Attorney General.
“There are too many examples to cite, but she put over 1,500 people in jail for marijuana violations and then laughed about it when she was asked if she ever smoked marijuana,” Gabbard said during the notable exchange.
“She blocked evidence, she blocked evidence that would have freed an innocent man from death row until the courts forced her to do so.”
In a later debate, Harris accused Gabbard of holding foreign policy views and criticizing the Democratic Party establishment, deeming her unqualified for the party’s presidential nomination.
“Our Democratic Party, unfortunately, is not the party that is of, by and for the people,” Gabbard countered, asserting that the party is still influenced by the foreign policy establishment associated with Hillary Clinton and others.
The Trump campaign responded positively to this retort, retweeting a clip of the debate moment.
After the debate in November 2019, Harris withdrew from the presidential race, and Gabbard ended her campaign in March 2020.
Trump and Harris are set to face each other for the first time in Philadelphia on September 10 on ABC.
{Matzav.com}
Nice, but Tulsi hasn’t worn that shaitel in quite some time. I have a sneaking suspicion that the picture you’ve posted is an old one.
Has she really become a Trump republican?