Representative Tulsi Gabbard, the Hawaii Democrat who ran an “outsider” campaign for the 2020 Democrat presidential nomination, officially ended her campaign on Thursday. And in a surprise move, Gabbard, who strongly supported socialist Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) in 2016, threw her support behind the Democrats’ establishment candidate, Joe Biden.
“I know Vice President Biden and his wife and am grateful to have called his son Beau, who also served in the National Guard, a friend,” Gabbard said in a statement. “Although I may not agree with the Vice President on every issue, I know that he has a good heart and is motivated by his love for our country and the American people.”
Biden welcomed Gabbard’s support in a tweet: “Tulsi Gabbard has put her life on the line in service of this country and continues to serve with honor today. I’m grateful to have her support and look forward to working with her to restore honor and decency to the White House.”
Gabbard, a member of the National Guard and an Iraq War veteran, ran on a platform that included ending so-called regime change wars, criminal justice reform, and creating a “green economy.” She had previously chosen not to run for reelection for her seat in the House.
The Hawaii Democrat also cited the coronavirus as a reason to suspend her campaign, saying, “I feel that the best way I can be of service at this time is to continue to work for the health and wellbeing of the people of Hawaii and our country in Congress, and to stand ready to serve in uniform should the Hawaii National Guard be activated.”
Once considered a rising star in the Democrat Party, Gabbard never gained much traction in the 2020 campaign, continually running at only one or two percent in national polls. Gabbard earned the ire of mainstream Democrats for her constant criticism of mainstream Democrats and also for a 2017 trip to Syria, during which she met with Bashar al-Assad.
Gabbard further alienated Democrats by voting “present” on the Articles of Impeachment against President Trump in December.
Nevertheless, Gabbard had some bright spots during her campaign. A July 2019 takedown of California senator Kamala Harris on the debate stage earned Gabbard the title of “most Googled candidate” in the days after the debate. Gabbard blasted Harris’ record as a prosecutor in California.
“Senator Harris says she is proud of her record as a prosecutor,” Gabbard said. “I am deeply concerned about this record.”
Gabbard got in another jab by noting that “[Harris] put over 1,500 people in jail for marijuana violations and laughed about it when she was asked if she ever smoked marijuana.”
But Gabbard faded quickly from the spotlight and was not really heard from again until October, when 2016 Democrat nominee Hillary Clinton singled out Gabbard as a “favorite of the Russians” and speculated that the Russians were “grooming her to be a third-party candidate.”
Gabbard gained some notoriety by responding to Clinton’s accusations and calling the former first lady the “queen of warmongers” and the “personification of the rot that has sickened the Democratic Party for so long.”
Gabbard also responded to Clinton by filing a $50 million defamation suit against the former secretary of state. The suit is still ongoing.
Having spent so much time on the outside of the Democrat mainstream, it’s odd that Gabbard would go on to quickly endorse Joe Biden, the establishment Democrats’ top choice, especially after having so stridently supported Sanders — Biden’s only remaining opponent — in 2016.
Biden promised during the last debate that he would pick a female as his running mate should he secure the nomination. By endorsing the former vice president, is Gabbard making known that she’s available for the position?
Gabbard is not only a female, but she checks off quite a few of the little intersectional boxes that Democrats are so fond of. She is an active member of the military. As a Samoan-American, she is a woman of color. As the first Hindu ever to run for president, she is of a minority religion in the United States.
These are things that matter to the Left in America. Whether she’s qualified or not are secondary concerns to the Democrats of today.
Photo: AP Images
James Murphy is a freelance journalist who writes on a variety of subjects, with a primary focus on the ongoing anthropogenic climate-change hoax and cultural issues. He can be reached at [email protected]
