Tulsi Gabbard isn’t on former President Donald Trump’s vice presidential shortlist, but she hasn’t dismissed the possibility of joining him on the campaign trail.
The ex-Democrat and former Hawaii representative, renowned for her sharp criticism of progressives, hinted in Thursday interviews at an openness to joining the Republican Party.
“I never say never,” Gabbard told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel when asked about potentially joining the Republican Party, especially as Trump’s running mate.
In another interview on Thursday, Gabbard kept the door open to potentially serving in the Trump administration if he were to win a second term.
“I think there are a few different ways I could serve — as secretary of state, secretary of defense — there are a few different ways I believe I could best serve our country,” Gabbard told radio host Joe Giganti on The Regular Joe Show. “Ultimately, we’ve got to save our country and win this election. I look forward to finding the best way that I can do that.”
Gabbard’s Wisconsin visit included a Friday event hosted by the Republican Party of Dane County and meetings in Brookfield with the Republican Parties of Milwaukee County and Waukesha County.
Gabbard was a longtime Democratic Party member, rising to vice chairwoman of the Democratic National Committee from 2013-2016.
After her 2020 presidential run as a Democrat, Gabbard’s disillusionment led her to become an independent in 2022.
In her announcement leaving the Democratic Party, Gabbard stated, “I can no longer remain in today’s Democratic Party that is now under the complete control of an elitist cabal of warmongers driven by cowardly wokeness, who divide us by racializing every issue & stoke anti-white racism, actively work to undermine our God-given freedoms, are hostile to people of faith & spirituality, demonize the police & protect criminals at the expense of law-abiding Americans, believe in open borders, weaponize the national security state to go after political opponents, and above all, dragging us ever closer to nuclear war.”
The independent is recognized for her foreign policy stances and has criticized some Republicans as “neocon war hawks.”
Since leaving the Democratic Party, Gabbard has frequently campaigned for GOP candidates while defending Trump amidst his numerous legal issues.
After Trump’s unprecedented hush money conviction last month, the potential vice presidential contender expressed her support for Trump on X.
“Biden: GUILTY of abuse of power,” she said. “Biden: GUILTY of turning our country into a banana republic where those in power use the law to go after their political opponents.”
Wisconsin is expected to be a close race this November. In 2016, Trump won the swing state by a little over 27,000 votes. In 2020, President Joe Biden flipped the state back to blue by 20,000 votes.
Truth Voices reached out to Gabbard for comment.
