08/27/2024 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 08/27/2024 10:23
In response to Tulsi Gabbard endorsing Donald Trump, DNC Rapid Response Director Alex Floyd released the following statement:
"Donald Trump's MAGA brand is so toxic that he's resorted to touting support from off-putting extremists like RFK Jr. and Tulsi Gabbard. Gabbard and Trump have a lot in common - they have both earned the praises of white supremacists and other extremists, celebrated the overturning of Roe v. Wade, and campaigned for dangerous election deniers. Rather than focusing on earning the support of hardworking Americans, Trump is more fixated on winning the backing of extremists like Gabbard and RFK Jr. - and they'll do nothing but weigh down his sinking ship of a campaign."
Today's endorsement from Tulsi Gabbard is nothing new - she's been cozying up to Donald Trump and his toxic brand of extremism for years.
CNN: "Tulsi Gabbard expected to endorse Trump today at Detroit event"
"The endorsement is not surprising given that Gabbard… has been helping Trump with debate prep ahead of the September 10 face-off with Vice President Kamala Harris."
2016: Gabbard met with Trump right after he won the 2016 election and was vetted by RNC officials to lead the VA.
2024: Gabbard headlined a fundraiser at Mar-a-Lago.
Washington Post: "Former president Donald Trump and top advisers have spoken with former Hawaii congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard about foreign policy and how the Defense Department should be run in a second Trump term."
Just like Trump, Gabbard's dangerous extremism has been praised by white supremacists and other extremists.
The Hill: "[David] Duke, who founded a Louisiana branch of the KKK in 1974 and served as the grand wizard of the Knights of the Klu Klux Klan until 1979, on Monday appeared to endorse Gabbard, the first Hindu member of Congress. 'Tulsi Gabbard in 2020. Finally a candidate for President who will really put America First?' he tweeted, linking to an article about President Trump's recent proposal to keep troops in Iraq. … Duke also changed his Twitter page banner to a picture of Gabbard, endorsing Gabbard for president. The text reads, 'Tulsi Gabbard for President. Finally a candidate who will actually put America First rather than Israel First!'"
New York Times: "Stephen K. Bannon, President Trump's former chief strategist, is impressed with [Gabbard's] political talent. Richard B. Spencer, the white nationalist leader, says he could vote for her."
Jewish Insider: "A neo-Nazi website took credit for Rep. Tulsi Gabbard's (D-HI) qualification for the first two Democratic primary debates. The Daily Stormer, a notorious white supremacist and antisemitic website, proclaimed in April 'we did it' - after the Hawaii congresswoman reached the 65,000 donor threshold needed to participate in the first two debates."
CNN: "Hawaii Democratic Rep. Tulsi Gabbard said Syrian President Bashar al-Assad is not the enemy of the United States, standing by her opposition to US involvement in that country's civil war two years after she met personally with the accused war criminal. 'Assad is not the enemy of the United States because Syria does not pose a direct threat to the United States,' Gabbard said Wednesday morning on MSNBC."
Gabbard: "It was a good thing that Trump met with [Kim Jong Un]."
NBC News: "An NBC News analysis of the main English-language news sites employed by Russia in its 2016 election meddling shows Rep. Tulsi Gabbard of Hawaii, who is set to make her formal announcement Saturday, has become a favorite of the sites Moscow used when it interfered in 2016. Several experts who track websites and social media linked to the Kremlin have also seen what they believe may be the first stirrings of an upcoming Russian campaign of support for Gabbard."
The Intercept: "But in the days leading up to [Russia's] attack [on Ukraine], as the state broadcaster worked to tarnish Ukraine and cast American criticism of President Vladimir Putin as hysterical, its producers borrowed heavily from another source: Fox News. At least four times this week, Russian news reports have featured translated clips of Tucker Carlson or his guest Tulsi Gabbard, a former Democratic U.S. representative."
Gabbard attacked efforts to investigate January 6 and repeatedly campaigned with notorious election deniers.
2022: Gabbard campaigned for prominent election deniers including Kari Lake, Don Bolduc, and Blake Masters.
Fox News: "Tulsi Gabbard slams the Jan 6 hearings: It's 'political interest'"
Gabbard celebrated the overturning of Roe v. Wade and introduced national abortion ban legislation that would criminalize providers.
2020: Gabbard introduced a bill that would ban most abortions at 20 weeks and threaten providers with jail time.
Bill O'Reilly: "Do you support the Supreme Court's decision on Roe v. Wade, giving authority to the individual states?"
Gabbard: "I do… we are moving in the right direction."
Gabbard worked closely with her father's anti-LGBTQ+ organization that worked to pass a measure against same-sex marriage in Hawaii and promoted conversion therapy.
CNN: "Rep. Tulsi Gabbard in the early 2000s touted working for her father's anti-gay organization, which mobilized to pass a measure against same-sex marriage in Hawaii and promoted controversial conversion therapy. … During her run for state legislature in 2002, Gabbard told the Honolulu Star-Bulletin, 'Working with my father, Mike Gabbard, and others to pass a constitutional amendment to protect traditional marriage, I learned that real leaders are willing to make personal sacrifices for the common good. I will bring that attitude of public service to the legislature.' The quote, which CNN's KFile found during a review of Gabbard's early career, shows how closely she aligned herself with her father's mission at the time."
Gabbard has railed against the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and CHIPS and Science Act, landmark legislation that is increasing our competitiveness and delivering for the American people.
Gabbard: "The so-called Infrastructure Bill… is a slush fund/giveaway program for permanent Washington to pay off their big donors and supporters."
Gabbard: "Corporate welfare chip bill transfers billions from pockets of regular Americans to coffers of giant corps like Intel, Micron Tech, etc. Further proof our country is now of, by, and for the rich and powerful."