Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-HI), who is now running for the Democratic presidential nomination, was vetted by the Trump transition team for an unspecified administration role, Axios reports.
Quote of the Day
“It’s unfortunate you’re citing that article, George, because it’s a whole lot of fake news.”
— Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-HI), in an interview on ABC News, on a Daily Beast story detailing her support from “prominent pro-Russian voices.”
Gabbard Would Drop Charges Against Assange
Rep. Tusli Gabbard (D-HI) said she would drop criminal charges against WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange and whistleblower Edward Snowden if elected, Newsweek reports.
Gabbard’s Campaign Is Run By Freelancers
Rep. Tulsi Gabbard’s (D-HI) presidential campaign had just one full-time employee in the first three months of the year, the Daily Beast reports.
“A review of Federal Election Commission records show Gabbard’s campaign made a single payment of less than $2,600 to field staffer Amaury Dujardin. Every other member of Gabbard’s campaign staff, including her campaign manager, was paid as a consultant, not a full-time employee. By contrast, the campaign spent $30,850 on billboard advertisements over the same period.”
Does Russia Already Have a Favorite for 2020?
“The Russian propaganda machine that tried to influence the 2016 U.S. election is now promoting the presidential aspirations of a controversial Hawaii Democrat who earlier this month declared her intention to run for president in 2020,” NBC News reports.
“An NBC News analysis of the main English-language news sites employed by Russia in its 2016 election meddling shows Rep. Tulsi Gabbard of Hawaii, who is set to make her formal announcement Saturday, has become a favorite of the sites Moscow used when it interfered in 2016.”
Gabbard’s Campaign In Disarray
“Tulsi Gabbard’s presidential campaign hasn’t officially launched yet but it’s already melting down,” Politico reports.
“Two-and-a-half weeks after she told CNN she had decided to run for the White House—an announcement that even her own staff didn’t know was coming, after weeks of debating the timing of the rollout—the 37-year-old congresswoman has struggled to contain the chaos.”
Gabbard Once Touted Gay Conversion Therapy
“Rep. Tulsi Gabbard in the early 2000s touted working for her father’s anti-gay organization, which mobilized to pass a measure against same-sex marriage in Hawaii and promoted controversial conversion therapy,” CNN reports.
“Her past views and activism in opposition to LGBT rights in the late 90s and early 2000s, which put her out of step with most of the Democratic Party at the time, have come under more intense scrutiny since her announcement.”
Gabbard Will Run for President
Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-HI) announced on CNN that she will seek the 2020 Democratic nomination for president.
Said Gabbard: “I have decided to run and will be making a formal announcement within the next week.”
She added: “There is one main issue that is central to the rest, and that is the issue of war and peace. I look forward to being able to get into this and to talk about it in depth when we make our announcement.”
Tulsi Gabbard Moves Forward with Presidential Bid
Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-HI) may make an announcement about a presidential bid as soon as this week, BuzzFeed News reports.
“Even in a barely formed presidential field, Gabbard would enter the race as an underdog. She did not rate a mention in a Des Moines Register/CNN poll of the Democratic presidential field last week. House members have an inherently difficult time running for national office, as they are often little known outside their district. The last one to successfully do it was James Garfield — in 1880.”
Tulsi Gabbard Mulling a White House Bid
Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-HI) told MSNBC that she’s “seriously considering” running for President in 2020.
Said Gabbard: “I’m thinking through it very carefully. I’m thinking through it very carefully.”
Tulsi Gabbard Weighs Presidential Bid
Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-HI) is considering running for president in 2020, Politico reports.
“Rania Batrice, an advisor to the progressive congresswoman who served as deputy campaign manager on Bernie Sanders’ 2016 presidential campaign, has been putting out feelers for digital and speech-writing staff for Gabbard. One person approached about the positions say that 2020 wasn’t mentioned explicitly, but it was heavily implied.”
Gabbard Doubts Assad Behind Gas Attacks
Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-HI) said she was “skeptical” that Syrian leader Bashar Assad’s regime was behind this week’s chemical weapons attack in northern Syria, The Hill reports.
Said Gabbard: “There are a number of theories that are out there. There are a number of ways that you can point the finger.”
Asked if she would change her mind if the Pentagon would present her with hard evidence that Assad was behind the chemical attack, the lawmaker replied “no.”
Gabbard In Trouble Over Syria Trip
Rep. Tulsi Gabbard’s (D-HI) “visit with Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad has already raised controversy. Now she’s in hot water yet again for failing to comply with House ethics rules,” the Daily Beast reports.
“Gabbard hasn’t yet submitted the required disclosure forms which detail who paid for her trip, and who else she met while she was in Syria.”
Gabbard Made Secret Trip to Syria
Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-HI) “has just departed war-torn Damascus following a trip her aides described as a ‘fact finding’ mission to work toward ending the nearly six year conflict in Syria,” Foreign Policy reports.
“Gabbard, an Iraq war veteran who drew speculation about an appointment in the Trump administration after she met privately with the president-elect in November, has frequently bucked her party and Washington’s foreign policy establishment in debates over the Syrian conflict.”
Gabbard Was Disinvited from Democratic Debate
Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-HI), a vice chairwoman of the Democratic National Committee, said she “was disinvited from the first Democratic presidential primary debate in Nevada after she appeared on television and called for more face-offs,” the New York Times reports.
Tulsi Gabbard Is Engaged
Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-HI) confirmed that she is getting married in April, according to the Honolulu Star-Advertiser.
The 33-year-old congresswoman did not divulge the name of her fiancé.
The Hill dubbed her “Hawaiian Heartbreaker” and put her sixth on its 50 Most Beautiful list.
She did not respond to a request for comment.