Democrat-turned Independent Tulsi Gabbard, the former congresswoman from Hawaii, is endorsing former President Donald Trump in the 2024 presidential race against Vice President Kamala Harris.
Gabbard served as the Democratic representative for Hawaii's 2nd congressional district from 2013 to 2021, but announced her exit from the party in 2022 after denouncing it as an "elitist cabal of warmongers."
The former Democrat, who ran in the 2019 Democratic presidential primary against Harris, was recently recruited by Trump to help with debate prep ahead of his September 10 face-off against the vice president at the National Constitutional Center in Philadelphia.
TULSI GABBARD GIVES UPDATE ON TRUMP'S DEBATE PREP: ‘HE KNOWS THE ISSUES’
The then-presidential candidate ripped the vice president during a Democratic primary debate for reportedly jailing hundreds of Californians for marijuana violations, then openly discussing smoking the drug herself.
TRUMP THANKS RFK JR. FOR ENDORSEMENT AFTER THIRD-PARTY CANDIDATE SUSPENDS HIS CAMPAIGN: ‘THAT’S BIG'
"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 of Harris during the debate.
Gabbard has been an outspoken critic of the Democratic Party since switching her party affiliation ahead of the 2022 midterms, speaking at conservative events such as the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) and the Faith and Freedom Coalition Road to Majority Conference.
The endorsement comes after former Democrat Robert F. Kennedy Jr. suspended his 2024 Independent presidential bid and threw his support behind Trump.
Kennedy claimed in his withdrawal announcement that the Democratic Party "waged continual legal warfare against both President Trump and myself," and "ran a sham primary." RFK Jr. said he will be campaigning with Trump until the election.
