Since her departure from the Democratic Party, conservatives have embraced Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (I). Despite her short run in the 2020 presidential election, she has often been cited as the candidate that killed Vice President Kamala Harris' (D) chance at the White House. With President Donald Trump (R) set to debate against Vice President Harris in September, President Trump has enlisted the help of Rep. Gabbard.
According to the New York Times, President Trump has called on the former Hawaiian representative to discuss "policy talks" ahead of his debate against the vice president.
In 2019, when both Vice President Harris and Rep. Gabbard shared the debate stage, Rep. Gabbard commented on her prosecutorial past, citing concerns that linger as she continues to pursue the White House.
In the 2019 Democratic primary debate, Rep. Gabbard criticized Vice President Harris, saying that she "put over 1,500 people in jail for marijuana violations, and then laughed about it, when she was asked if she ever smoked marijuana." “She blocked evidence that would have freed an innocent man from death row, until the courts forced her to do so. She kept people in prison beyond their sentences to use them as cheap labor for the state of California, and she fought to keep cash bail system in place—that impacts poor people in the worst kind of way," she continued.
President Trump's spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt confirmed Rep. Gabbard's involvement with the Trump campaign in an email to the New York Times.
“President Trump has proven to be one of the best debaters in political history as evidenced by his knockout blow to Joe Biden,” Leavitt said in a statement. “He does not need traditional debate prep but will continue to meet with respected policy advisors and effective communicators like Tulsi Gabbard, who successfully dominated Kamala Harris on the debate stage.”
President Trump and Vice President Harris will meet on the debate stage on September 10th, and the debate will be hosted by ABC News.
