Former Hawaii congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard announced Tuesday she’s leaving the Democratic Party, saying it’s “under the complete control of an elitist cabal of warmongers who are driven by cowardly wokeness.”
THE VIDEO
Gabbard, a 2020 Democratic presidential candidate turned critic of her party, accused Democrats of dividing the country by, among other things, “racializing every issue and stoking anti-white racism” and “dragging us ever-close to nuclear war.”
The Democratic Party “stands for a government that is of, by and for the powerful elite,” Gabbard said. “Now, I’m calling on my fellow commonsense independent-minded Democrats to join me in leaving the Democratic Party.”
- The headline-grabbing comments came in the premiere of Gabbard’s new podcast, “The Tulsi Gabbard Show.”
WHO IS TULSI?
Gabbard, who did not announce a new party affiliation, has defied categorization throughout her exceptional life.
1. At age 21, Gabbard became the youngest woman ever elected to the Hawaii State House in 2002.
- She was working as a martial arts instructor at the time, according to the Honolulu Star-Bulletin.
2. Gabbard trained in a number of martial arts, including the Brazilian dance-fighting sport capoeira, since childhood.
3. Gabbard enlisted in the Hawaii Army National Guard in 2003. She completed basic training during breaks in legislative sessions.
4. Gabbard was the first woman to graduate from the Alabama Military Academy’s Accelerated Officer Candidate School with the title of distinguished honor graduate, which she did in 2007.
5. Gabbard was a trainer for the Kuwait National Guard’s counterterrorism units while she was deployed in Kuwait 2008-2009.
6. Gabbard was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 2012, becoming the first Hindu member of Congress by defeating David Crowley in the race for Hawaii’s 2nd Congressional District seat.
7. During an appearance on NBC’s “Meet the Press” in 2016, Gabbard announced she was stepping down as vice chair of the Democratic National Committee to endorse Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., for president.