It was 2019, and the second Democratic presidential primary debate was unfolding in Detroit when then-Rep. Tulsi Gabbard of Hawaii went for the jugular.
Gabbard didn’t target Joe Biden, who at the time was the front-runner.
She turned instead to Kamala Harris, then the junior senator from California, and unleashed a bitter attack that took her prosecutorial record apart in detail.
“I want to bring the conversation back to the broken criminal justice system that is disproportionately negatively impacting Black and brown people all across this country today,” Gabbard began, hitting Harris from the left. “Now, Sen. Harris says she’s proud of her record as a prosecutor and that she’ll be a prosecutor president. But I’m deeply concerned about this record. 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 won loud, raucous cheers and applause. She continued, accusing Harris of blocking evidence in a death row case, keeping people in prison beyond their sentences and supporting a broken cash bail system. Major applause broke out in the room several times.
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At the time, fact-checkers parsed Gabbard’s allegations, saying some weren’t accurate. Still, it turned into a major moment for Gabbard — even though Harris forcefully responded — and it was a standout episode in her short-lived 2020 presidential campaign.
It’s coming into view again now in the run-up to Tuesday’s second presidential debate after Donald Trump tapped Gabbard to assist him in his debate preparations. Trump campaign officials have said that he valued Gabbard’s experience in verbal combat with Harris and that the team had been seeking her consultation for some time. In 2022, Gabbard announced she was leaving the Democratic Party and campaigned for Republican candidates.
In February, she headlined a fundraiser for Trump at Mar-a-Lago, his residence in Florida. Gabbard had been among those under consideration to be Trump’s vice presidential pick, and she became a more active part of his team. She’s a frequent Harris critic on Fox News, she moderated a town hall for Trump, and she was recently named to his transition team.
Back in 2020, amid a crowded primary field, Gabbard’s focus on Harris took many observers by surprise.
“I remember thinking, ‘Hmm, that’s an interesting target — why Kamala?' If you were handicapping the race, nobody thought Kamala was the front-runner at that point,” said Mark Longabough, a Democratic strategist who in 2016, as an adviser to Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., had gotten to know Gabbard when she was a Sanders surrogate. The attacks were effective, Longabough said, in part because Harris wasn’t yet well-known nationally.
Asked about Gabbard’s involvement in debate preparations — such as they are in Trump world — a Trump campaign official said she had been helpful getting Trump to think about the pivot from attacking Harris to highlighting his policies or what he would do differently. That included talking through how to take things one step beyond the attack lines he gives at rallies into cohesive debate answers. The campaign official said the Trump team had been trying to get Gabbard involved for a while.
“Tulsi Gabbard whipped Kamala Harris’ butt on the debate stage,” Trump spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt said. “She’s offering her advice to President Trump ahead of Tuesday’s debate.”
Harris’ campaign didn’t comment.
When Gabbard went after her, Harris had come off her own major debate moment. In the first 2020 debate, on a crowded stage, Harris went after Biden over a decades-old busing policy and for his past comments about working with segregationist senators.
“I do not believe you are a racist,” she said as part of the encounter. Raising that prospect in the first place at the time rankled the Biden campaign.
In the Detroit debate, Harris did hit back at Gabbard, accusing her of having spent time during Barack Obama’s administration going on Fox News and attacking him. When Trump had been elected but not yet sworn in, Harris charged that Gabbard “buddied up to Steve Bannon to get a meeting with Donald Trump in the Trump Tower.”
Gabbard remains a perplexing and polarizing political figure. She was once viewed as a rising star in the party and as such a staunch supporter of Sanders that she delivered his nomination speech at the 2016 Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia.
Gabbard, an Iraq War veteran, launched her 2020 campaign as a progressive Democrat and at one point panned Trump’s foreign policy, accusing Harris of being in line with him and others; she said Harris would “continue the status quo, continue the Bush-Clinton-Trump foreign policy of regime-change wars.”
Gabbard had already lobbed direct criticisms at Trump, including in 2018, which got some attention.
“Hey @realdonaldtrump: being Saudi Arabia’s b----- is not ‘America First,’” she wrote on X.
Gabbard has long drawn the scorn of Democrats, including Hillary Clinton, who suggested in 2019 that Gabbard — without specifically using her name — was “the favorite of the Russians.”
“I’m not making any predictions, but I think they’ve got their eye on somebody who is currently in the Democratic primary and are grooming her to be the third-party candidate,” Clinton said.
When Gabbard dropped out of the 2020 race, she endorsed Biden.
“I know Joe Biden and his wife, and I’m grateful to have called his son Beau a friend who also served in the National Guard,” she said in a video statement then. “Although I may not agree with the VP on every issue, I know that he has a good heart and he’s motivated by his love for our country and the American people. 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.”
This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
Tulsi Gabbard believes Kamala Harris is pulling out all the stops in the lead-up to Tuesday night's debate against Donald Trump, saying she believes the vice president intends to "act her way" through the remainder of the election.
Harris and Trump are set to face off on Tuesday night, in what is currently the only scheduled debate of the 2024 Presidential election. The ABC-hosted encounter will likely see Trump taking to task Harris's record on immigration and inflation, with the vice president hoping to make her case to the American people and avoid the performance which led to President Joe Biden's departure from the race.
"Kamala Harris is being trained like an actress—lights, cameras, memorized lines—so she can 'win' the debate and act her way through this election," Gabbard posted to X on Tuesday. "But we're not choosing the lead in a movie; we're choosing our Commander-in-Chief."
Kamala Harris is being trained like an actress—lights, cameras, memorized lines—so she can “win” the debate and act her way through this election. But we’re not choosing the lead in a movie; we’re choosing our Commander-in-Chief. As citizens and voters, we need to recognize our… pic.twitter.com/MQ4QHnv0w4
Gabbard, a former Representative for Hawaii and Lieutenant Colonel in the U.S. Army, is now one of the most high-profile former Democrats to have endorsed Donald Trump in the 2024 election, and has been a harsh critic of Harris since prior to leaving the party in 2022.
Gabbard ran against Harris for the Democratic nomination in 2020, with footage of one of their debates during that year's primaries recently reemerging in the buildup to Harris' encounter with Trump.
During the July 2019 debate, Gabbard attacked Harris' record as a district attorney in San Francisco, accusing her of imprisoning individuals for misdemeanor drug crimes despite joking about smoking Marijuana herself, and having "obstructed evidence that could have let an innocent man leave death row."
Attached to Gabbard's Tuesday post was a clip from a recent interview with Fox News, in which she warned that the vice president "is not to be underestimated," and claimed that Harris was taking "extreme acting lessons" in preparation for Tuesday night.
"She's locked herself in a hotel room, taking extreme acting lessons," Gabbard told her interviewer, Jesse Watters. "She's got Hollywood advisers, a stage, the Hollywood lights, in the hopes that her friends at ABC and the propaganda media will declare her the winner."
Trump, meanwhile, has reportedly employed Gabbard to prep him for Tuesday night's encounter.
As reported by the New York Times in mid-August, citing unnamed sources with knowledge of Trump's schedule, Trump "brought in the former Democratic congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard to help sharpen his attacks in a recent practice session at his private club and home, Mar-a-Lago."
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Hugh Cameron is Newsweek Live News Reporter based in London, U.K. His focus is reporting on international politics, conflict, and crime. Hugh joined Newsweek in 2024, having worked at Alliance News Ltd where he specialised in covering global and regional business developments, economic news, and market trends. He graduated from the University of Warwick with a bachelor's degree in politics in 2022, and from the University of Cambridge with a master's degree in international relations in 2023. Languages: English.
You can get in touch with Hugh by emailing [email protected]
Hugh Cameron is Newsweek Live News Reporter based in London, U.K. His focus is reporting on international politics, conflict, and ... Read more
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On Tuesday, RFK Jr. will appear in the spin room on behalf of Donald Trump at the ABC debate in Philadelphia. Donald Trump is so desperate for someone to speak on his behalf he’s asking a man who has called him “a threat to democracy,” “a sociopath,” and “barely human” to spin for him. RFK is so desperate for attention that he agreed.
In response DNC Spokesperson Matt Corridoni said:
“Donald Trump is so desperate for support he’s scraping the bottom of the barrel and coming up with RFK Jr. as his spin room surrogate. Equally desperate, RFK Jr. is willing to sell his soul for attention — abandoning any integrity he had left. Both of these men are driven by their egos and desire for attention and that will be on full display after the debate tonight.”
RFK Jr. Has Repeatedly Criticized Donald Trump’s Disposition— Calling Him “A Terrible Human Being,” “Barely Human,” “Unhinged,” And “Probably A Sociopath”
The New Yorker: “ In a recent text exchange, Kennedy told one person that Trump was ‘a terrible human being. The wors[t] president ever and barely human. He is probably a sociopath.’”
The Guardian: “Robert F Kennedy Jr. has dismissed Donald Trump as ‘unhinged’ after a social media tirade from the former Republican president accused the independent White House hopeful of being a ‘Democrat plant’ and ‘wasted protest vote’. ‘When frightened men take to social media they risk descending into vitriol, which makes them sound unhinged,’ Kennedy wrote on Saturday on X in a post that doubled as a debate challenge. ‘President Trump’s rant against me is a barely coherent barrage of wild and inaccurate claims that should best be resolved in the American tradition of presidential debate.’”
RFK Jr. Said He’s “Not A Fan of Trump,” Opposed “Donald Trump And All That He Stands For,” And Pledged to Show Voters How Trump “Betrayed Their Hopes”
Newsmax: “I am not a fan of President Trump. And I can talk a lot about the reasons why, but that’s why I’m running against him.”
CBS News: “‘One can, as I do, oppose Donald Trump and all he stands for […]’ Kennedy said.”
CNN: RFK Jr.: “And so if Donald Trump does — Donald Trump a lot of things wrong, and I call him on it.”
Robert F. Kennedy Jr., @RobertKennedyJr.: “I will show how President Trump betrayed the hopes of his most sincere followers.”
RFK Jr. Called Donald Trump “A Threat To Democracy” And “Appalling” For His Involvement In The Attacks On The Capitol On January 6
Newsmax: RFK JR.: “‘I think that is a threat to democracy, [Trump] overthrowing — trying to overthrow the election — clearly is a threat to democracy,’ he said. ‘But the question was, Who is a worse threat to democracy? […] I’m not going to defend President Trump on that, and it was appalling. And there’s many things that President Trump has done that are appalling,’ he added.”
Scott Melker YouTube: “And he mounted an assault on the United States Constitution.”
RFK Jr. Said Donald Trump Didn’t Have The “Right” To Wear the American Flag Pin
Newsweek: “Targeting both Biden and Trump, he was scathing at times and at one point condemned them saying: ‘Both these presidents swore to uphold the Constitution. They’re both wearing American flag pins. That’s easy to do. That’s an accessory.’ ‘I don’t believe they have the right to wear those American flag pins,’ he added.”
RFK Jr. Criticized Donald Trump’s First Term For Being “Catastrophic,” Said Trump Didn’t Deserve A Chance At A Second Term, And Called Him a “Bad,” “Terrible” President
MSNBC: RFK JR:” I can explain I’m running against him so obviously I don’t want him to be president of the United States and I don’t think he did a good job.”
Newsweek: “‘I’m not a fan of President Trump, I’m running against him, I think he was a bad president […]”
Breaking Points: RFK Jr.: “… I think Donald Trump was a terrible president. I think a lot of the things he talks about, he talks about winding down the military industrial complex, but he didn’t do that […] And if you look at the way he governed, he said he was going to drain the swamp. He brought a pharmaceutical industry lobbyist in to run HHS. He brought oil lobbyists in from the Interior Department. He brought a whole lobbyist in to run the EPA. He bought a Verizon executive in to run the FCC. He ran he brought a a banker run the Treasury Department and, uh, and so, you know, and he brought John Bolton and to run the NSA and he brought an oil executive and to run the State Department. So these are swamp creatures. He wasn’t draining the swamp. He was turning the government over to corporate, uh, pirates.”
New York Times: “And [Trump] caved into his bureaucracy and let them roll over him. So I don’t think he, you know, I just— I think both of these, uh, that it’s scary thinking about what could happen […].”
Washington Times: “‘Donald Trump knew what was wrong,’ Mr. Kennedy said on Glenn Beck’s radio show. ‘He knew not to shut down our businesses and he knew about lockdowns, he knew about ivermectin, hydroxychloroquine. He said it, he tried to speak up but his own bureaucrats told him to shut up, and he unfortunately did what he was told.’ ‘That’s why I think that he doesn’t deserve another chance,’ he said. Mr. Kennedy also said Dr. Fauci has not been jailed ‘because Joe Biden is president and because unfortunately, Donald Trump … was run over by him.’”
Robert F. Kennedy Jr., @RobertKennedyJr.: “President Trump has shown he doesn’t have the capacity to stand up to bureaucrats in the White House.”
RFK Jr. Railed Against Donald Trump’s Economic Policies— Criticizing Him for Racking Up Debt, Passing Tax Cuts That Benefited The Wealthy, And “Scamming American Workers”
WABC: RFK Jr: “President Trump ran up a bigger debt, $8 Trillion than all the presidents in American history combined before him for 283 years of our government.”
Washington Times: “[Mr. Kennedy] says Mr. Trump’s 2017 tax cuts were skewed toward big corporations instead of the ‘little guy.’”
Scott Melker Youtube: RFK Jr.: “He promised to balance the budget. He printed $8 trillion with the currency. I think it was more than any all the presidents combined from George Washington and George W Bush.”
Robert F. Kennedy Jr., @RobertKennedyJr: “Taxing unrealized gains is utterly absurd. Stock can plummet before you ever sell it and you still have to pay taxes on what you would have made if you sold it earlier. Same goes for the terrible changes to the tax code for amortization of the ability to write off R&D costs that kick in this year to pay for Trump’s 2017 tax cut.”
Robert F. Kennedy Jr., @RobertKennedyJr: “President Trump scammed American workers. He promised to bring back manufacturing, raise wages, fix trade deals, close the carried interest loophole, and help small farmers. But everything President Trump achieved were things the Republican machine wanted.”
Robert F. Kennedy Jr., @RobertKennedyJr:“Unfortunately, the man the working class has turned to, Donald Trump, offers them little beyond bombast and bluster. His massive tax cut benefited mostly the wealthy.”
RFK Jr. Criticized Donald Trump For Filling His Administration With “Swamp Creatures” And “Corporate Pirates”
Breaking Points: “He wasn’t draining the swamp. He was turning the government over to corporate pirates.”
Piers Morgan Uncensored: “I think people cannot take seriously his promise that he’s going to drain the swamp if he actually once again brings these swamp creatures into run our government.”
1819 News: “‘President Trump had, I think, double the amount of lobbyists than any President in United States history running our agencies,’ Kennedy said. ‘You can’t reform them when you’ve got the swamp creatures running them […]’”
Robert F. Kennedy Jr., @RobertKennedyJr:“Trump appointed the worst neocons to the highest positions of power in his administration: John Bolton, HR McMaster, and Robert O’Brien. Now, Lindsey Graham is one of his top advisors and likely to be his Secretary of State.”
RFK Jr. Slammed Donald Trump’s Foreign Policy Positions
Robert F. Kennedy Jr., @RobertKennedyJr.: “President Trump’s imperial plan is both absurd and terrifying. It is not an America First strategy, nor will it make America great. Instead it will prolong the agony of our failed world domination strategy, here and abroad.”
Robert F. Kennedy Jr., @RobertKennedyJr.:“President Trump bragged about arming Ukraine more than Obama did. He also walked away unilaterally from the intermediate range nuclear missile treaty with Russia, destabilizing our relationship. He also exacerbated tensions between Ukraine and Russia that ultimately caused a war.”
Inman Connect 2024: RFK Jr.: “Trump is saying, well, we need to increase our military. That’s the opposite of what we need to do. We need to do is cut the military in half.”
Robert F. Kennedy Jr., @RobertKennedyJr.:“President Trump bombed Syria, killed an Iranian general, and failed to fulfill his promise of ending the war in Afghanistan.”
RFK Jr. Has Repeatedly Called Donald Trump A “Bully” And Said That He Threatened Democracy At Home And Abroad
CNN: “For years, Kennedy has repeatedly condemned Trump, referring to him as a ‘bully,’ who appealed to ‘bigotry,’ ‘hatred,’ ‘xenophobia’ and ‘prejudice.’”
CNN: “In August 2016, during an interview with Larry King, Kennedy expressed deep concerns about Trump’s rise to power, calling it ‘scary.’ Kennedy noted the potential harm of leaders who exploit these darker elements of society. ‘The easiest thing for a political leader to do is to appeal to our bigotry and our hatred and xenophobia and prejudice, and point to people who are unlike us and say they’re the ones who are damaging our country,’ he said.”
CNN: “‘Everybody knows the difference between leadership and bullying.’ ‘President Trump has not only brought this country into disrepute around the globe, but he has also brought into disrepute the entire American experience with self-governance,’ he continued.”
CNN: “At the same 2018 event, Kennedy suggested Trump’s leadership had damaged American attempts to spread democracy worldwide. ‘If you live in China today, and you’re looking at what’s happening in the United States, why would you ever say, we wanna switch our system for that system, which can produce that kind of buffoonery at a high level,’ added Kennedy. ‘I think President Trump is purposefully and systematically encouraging tyrannical governments around the world.’”
CNN: “Speaking with Yahoo Finance in January 2020, Kennedy made similar comments. ‘Well, I think the problem is, number one, he’s a bully. And you know, I don’t like bullies and I don’t think – America – that’s part of America’s tradition. I think in many ways he’s discredited the American experiment with self-governance,’ Kennedy added.”
RFK Jr. Said Donald Trump “Inflamed Racial Tensions” And Failed To Maintain Law And Order
Robert F. Kennedy Jr., @RobertKennedyJr: “We had the worst rioting and looting this country had seen since the 60s under President Trump. He inflamed racial tensions and didn’t keep us safe. Instead of using federal law enforcement to stop the rioting, Trump thought it was good optics to let Democrat-run cities burn.”
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