Step back, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. You aren’t even the most interesting ex-Democrat-turned-MAGA-tool to endorse Donald Trump this month.
For my money, that would be Tulsi Gabbard, the former House member and 2020 contender to unseat President Trump.
Gabbard has been on quite the political journey. She never got much traction in her 2020 race. But she did win herself a small but intensely passionate following based heavily on her isolationist leanings — which, admittedly, are more electrifying than most, thanks to her penchant for making indulgent statements about bloodthirsty strongmen such as Bashar al-Assad and Vladimir Putin. Indeed, Gabbard’s soft-on-Russia musings have been at times so striking that Hillary Clinton publicly called her “a Russian asset,” prompting Gabbard to sue Clinton for defamation. (Gabbard later dropped the suit.)
Gabbard quit the Democratic Party in 2022 and became an independent, saying it had fallen “under the complete control of an elitist cabal of warmongers driven by cowardly wokeness,” and promptly began making nice with the red team. She hit the campaign trail for Republican candidates in the midterms. She spoke at the Conservative Political Action Conference. Conveniently, she was already a hot guest on Fox News.
For this election, she has settled snugly into the MAGA fold — all the more so since Kamala Harris became the Democratic nominee. Gabbard has been helping Trump with his debate prep. During a primary debate in 2019, you may recall, Gabbard hit Harris hard from the left — successfully enough to leave a mark and tick off Harris. Trump, who has been struggling to figure out how to deal with his new opponent, is clearly hoping some of Gabbard’s mojo rubs off on him.
Just in case anyone had any doubts as to her new allegiance, Gabbard endorsed Trump on Monday. They appeared together at a National Guard conference in Detroit, on the third anniversary of the bombing in Afghanistan that killed 13 U.S. service members. A National Guard veteran, Gabbard asserted that Trump “understands the grave responsibility that a president and commander in chief bears for every single one of our lives.”
The next day, Trump announced that Gabbard was joining his transition team, as is Mr. Kennedy.
Team Trump is presumably betting that bringing on former Democrats will send a signal that his campaign is the one with a big tent and mainstream appeal. But when we’re talking about characters as … colorful as Gabbard and Kennedy, I’m betting the signal to many voters is that Trump’s G.O.P. is the home of the politically strange.
For my money, that would be Tulsi Gabbard, the former House member and 2020 contender to unseat President Trump.
Gabbard has been on quite the political journey. She never got much traction in her 2020 race. But she did win herself a small but intensely passionate following based heavily on her isolationist leanings — which, admittedly, are more electrifying than most, thanks to her penchant for making indulgent statements about bloodthirsty strongmen such as Bashar al-Assad and Vladimir Putin. Indeed, Gabbard’s soft-on-Russia musings have been at times so striking that Hillary Clinton publicly called her “a Russian asset,” prompting Gabbard to sue Clinton for defamation. (Gabbard later dropped the suit.)
Gabbard quit the Democratic Party in 2022 and became an independent, saying it had fallen “under the complete control of an elitist cabal of warmongers driven by cowardly wokeness,” and promptly began making nice with the red team. She hit the campaign trail for Republican candidates in the midterms. She spoke at the Conservative Political Action Conference. Conveniently, she was already a hot guest on Fox News.
For this election, she has settled snugly into the MAGA fold — all the more so since Kamala Harris became the Democratic nominee. Gabbard has been helping Trump with his debate prep. During a primary debate in 2019, you may recall, Gabbard hit Harris hard from the left — successfully enough to leave a mark and tick off Harris. Trump, who has been struggling to figure out how to deal with his new opponent, is clearly hoping some of Gabbard’s mojo rubs off on him.
Just in case anyone had any doubts as to her new allegiance, Gabbard endorsed Trump on Monday. They appeared together at a National Guard conference in Detroit, on the third anniversary of the bombing in Afghanistan that killed 13 U.S. service members. A National Guard veteran, Gabbard asserted that Trump “understands the grave responsibility that a president and commander in chief bears for every single one of our lives.”
The next day, Trump announced that Gabbard was joining his transition team, as is Mr. Kennedy.
Team Trump is presumably betting that bringing on former Democrats will send a signal that his campaign is the one with a big tent and mainstream appeal. But when we’re talking about characters as … colorful as Gabbard and Kennedy, I’m betting the signal to many voters is that Trump’s G.O.P. is the home of the politically strange.
