Tulsi Gabbard, a former congresswoman from Hawaii and 2020 presidential candidate, stated she is now not a member of the Democratic Celebration.
In a video assertion posted to Twitter, Gabbard defined her determination to depart, regardless of holding a number of places of work as a Democrat since 2002, together with vice chair of the Democratic Nationwide Committee from 2013 to 2016.
She stated the celebration is "now beneath the whole management of an elitist cabal of warmongers" and stated it's pushed by "wokeness," the time period usually used to explain political correctness.
In her video, she accused the celebration of dividing Individuals, amongst different issues. "I consider in a authorities that's of, by, and for the folks," she stated. "Sadly, at this time's Democratic Celebration doesn't."
Gabbard stated she believes the celebration "stands for a authorities of, by, and for the highly effective elite," and stated she "can now not abdomen the course that so-called woke Democratic Celebration ideologues are taking our nation, I invite you to affix me."
In an extended model of the video posted on YouTube, Gabbard stated when she first declared herself a Democrat, she was impressed by those that stood up in opposition to the Vietnam Conflict, individuals who fought for plantation staff in Hawaii and leaders like Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert F. Kennedy. Nevertheless, she is now a critic of President Biden and the celebration.
The video was posted as the primary episode on the "Tulsi Gabbard Present" YouTube web page, which can even be a podcast by the identical identify, hosted by Gabbard.
Gabbard rose via the ranks as a Democratic member of the Hawaii Home of Representatives, a member of the Honolulu metropolis council after which a Democratic member of U.S. Home of Representatives. She was the primary Hindu elected to Congress.
In 2019, she introduced her 2020 presidential marketing campaign. She went up in opposition to 9 different Democrats who dropped out in the course of the primaries and was the second to final to drop out, simply earlier than Sen. Bernie Sanders, of Vermont. Biden, the tenth candidate, remained because the celebration's nominee and was later elected president.
As a result of she is a Nationwide Guard veteran, who did two excursions within the Center East, she took a two-week absence from her marketing campaign to report for energetic obligation with the Hawaiian Military Nationwide Guard in Indonesia.
Throughout the 2016 presidential election, she campaigned for candidate Bernie Sanders, however she has been robust on each Democrats and Republicans up to now.
After Trump was elected, she met with the then-president-elect to debate her opposition to making a no-fly zone over Syria, saying it will "result in extra loss of life and struggling." She admitted the assembly was uncommon however stated partisanship won't ever "undermine our nationwide safety when the lives of numerous folks lay within the stability."
In 2018, Gabbard modified her tune, writing in a tweet that Trump is "Saudi Arabia's bitch" for saying the U.S. will stand with Saudi Arabia, no matter any intelligence neighborhood evaluation on Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman's involvement within the killing of Washington Submit columnist Jamal Khashoggi.
In 2019, she accused then-Sen. Kamala Harris, who was additionally working for president, of staging a "political ploy" to smear former Vice President Joe Biden's popularity and his document on civil rights. She stated on CBS Information' "Crimson & Blue" that Harris had been "leveling this accusation that Joe Biden is a racist — when he is clearly not — as a method to attempt to smear him." She additionally tweeted a related sentiment. Harris by no means accused Biden of racial animus, and particularly stated "I don't consider you're a racist" earlier than confronting him on stage on the debate.
In 2020 she sued Hillary Clinton, alleging within the lawsuit that Clinton lied about Gabbard when she made derogatory feedback in October 2019 in an effort to harm Gabbard's bid for the White Home. She ultimately dropped the lawsuit.
Throughout her presidential marketing campaign, she tried to enchantment to independents and Trump voters with a populist, anti-war message, however struggled to realize assist from mainstream Democrats in the course of the primaries. "[S]he is pulling from Trump voters. It may make it even harder for Trump to win, significantly in states like Michigan and New Hampshire," Steve Bannon advised CBS Information in January 2020.
She didn't search reelection in Congress throughout her presidential run and left the chamber in 2021. She did, nonetheless, keep politically energetic and spoke on the Conservative Political Motion Convention, an annual convention attended by Republican voters and politicians.