Former US President and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump (L) dances as he leaves the stage after talking alongside former US Consultant Tulsi Gabbard throughout a city corridor assembly in La Crosse, Wisconsin, on August 29, 2024.
Kamil Krzaczynski | Afp | Getty Pictures
Former Democratic Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, who has endorsed Republican former President Donald Trump’s marketing campaign, is advising the GOP nominee to concentrate on Vice President Kamala Harris’ coverage pivots of their upcoming debate.
Harris “has already proven that she is attempting to maneuver away from her report, transfer away from her positions,” Gabbard mentioned in a Sunday interview on CNN’s “State of the Union.”
Gabbard is a part of a small group of Trump advisers who’re serving to the previous president put together for the talk, scheduled for Sept. 10 on ABC.
Trump’s marketing campaign insists that the candidate doesn’t interact in conventional function taking part in debate follow classes. Nonetheless, Gabbard is uniquely suited to assist Trump perceive what it will be wish to debate Harris, given her firsthand expertise throughout the 2020 Democratic main contest.
“What I identified in that debate stage within the 2020 marketing campaign was her hypocrisy,” Gabbard mentioned.
In July of 2019, Gabbard launched a noteworthy assault on Harris throughout a Democratic main debate, noting that as a prosecutor Harris had secured jail time for marijuana violations, and accusing Harris of not having carried out sufficient to eradicate money bail.
On the time, legal justice reform was a very talked-about problem amongst Democratic main voters.
5 years later, Republicans are hoping that Trump can repeat Gabbard’s success in rattling Harris, albeit on solely totally different subjects.
“Kamala Harris is attempting to cover from voters,” Gabbard mentioned on Sunday. “She says her place is one factor, however her actions and her data present precisely the alternative.”
In comparison with Harris’ 2019 Democratic main platform, her 2024 basic election insurance policies fall extra to the middle than the left, particularly on points like fracking and immigration.
For Trump, nonetheless, taking Gabbard’s recommendation may carry dangers in addition to potential rewards.
The previous congresswoman from Hawaii shares Trump’s conspiratorial view of how the Biden administration workout routines energy, and he or she frequently accuses the White Home of concentrating on “political opponents,” herself included.
If Trump leans into these sorts of conspiratorial themes on the talk stage, he may danger drawing consideration to his numerous authorized battles, and even alienating undecided voters.
Nonetheless, surrogates like Gabbard and Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the previous Democrat turned third-party presidential candidate who not too long ago dropped out of the race and endorsed Trump, enable the Republican to color his marketing campaign as a refuge for independents and Democratic defectors.
The Trump marketing campaign not too long ago added each Gabbard and RFK Jr. to its official transition crew, and each are in reported talks for potential cupboard positions if Trump wins the White Home.