According to media reports, former US Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard of Hawaii, who quit the Democratic Party in 2022, formally endorsed former President Donald Trump for the presidency in November.
Gabbard, who has now emerged as a powerful conservative voice, announced her endorsement at an event organized by the National Guard Association in Michigan, where Trump addressed the participants, it was reported by The Hill.
"This administration has us facing multiple wars on multiple fronts in regions around the world, and closer to the brink of nuclear war than we ever have been before," Gabbard said.
"This is one of the main reasons why I am committed to doing all that I can to send President Trump back to the White House, where he can once again serve us as our Commander-in-Chief," she added.
"She's a special person," Trump praised Gabbard, 43, by way of introduction.
"She's got great common sense, great spirit. She loves our country and she loves the people in this room."
On Monday, Gabbard said that Trump "understands the grave responsibility that a President and Commander-in-Chief bears for every single one of our lives, whether you're a soldier, you're an airman, a Marine sailor or a Coastie, he keeps us in his heart, in the decisions that he makes."
"We saw this through his first term in the presidency, when he not only didn't start any new wars, he took action to de-escalate and prevent wars. He exercised the courage that we expect from our Commander-in-Chief in exhausting all measures of diplomacy, having the courage to meet with adversaries, dictators, allies and partners alike in the pursuit of peace, seeing war as a last resort," Gabbard added.
Both Trump and Gabbard attended the National Guard Association of the US gathering to mark the third anniversary of the August 26, 2021, suicide bombing at Hamid Karzai International Airport that killed 13 US service members and over 100 Afghans, The Hill reported.
Earlier in the day Gabbard had been with Trump at Arlington National Cemetery where the former President laid wreaths to honor the memory of Sergeant Nicole Gee, Staff Sergeant Darin Hoover and Staff Sergeant Ryan Knauss.
Gabbard had run a relatively unsuccessful campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2020. Following that campaign, she left Congress, abandoned the Democratic Party, and began making appearances at events like the Conservative Political Action Conference, The Hill reported.
Over the last several weeks, Gabbard has taken on public Debate Preparation with Vice President Kamala Harris. During her 2020 campaign - one of its most memorable moments-she skewered Harris' record as a prosecutor at a Democratic debate.
Gabbard's endorsement comes on the heels of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. dropping his independent presidential campaign and backing Trump - a move that Trump's presidential campaign touted as a shot in the arm in pivotal battleground states.
Further, NYT reports that Trump has become her debate-strategy czar to his ideal debate with Kamala Harris. She attended some of Trump's debate practice sessions at his Mar-a-Lago estate.
Trump is to debate Harris on ABC News come September 10.
Mr Trump, in Gabbard, got several benefits for his campaign: a woman, since he is facing another female opponent; she knows the routine, having served as a member of the House; and most notably, she has, in the past, debated Harris, delivering a pointed critique of her prosecutorial record, as noted by the New York Times.
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