Former Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-Hawaii) is leaving the Democratic Party, the former 2020 presidential candidate announced Tuesday.
In a video posted on Twitter, Gabbard, 41, said she can no longer remain in a party "now under the complete control of an elitist cabal of warmongers driven by cowardly wokeness, who divide us by racializing every issue and stoke anti-white racism," undermine Americans' "God-given freedoms," "demonize" the police but protect criminals, encourage open borders, "weaponize" national security for politics' sake, and push the country "ever closer to nuclear war."
"I believe in a government that is of, by, and for the people. Unfortunately, today's Democratic Party does not," Gabbard continued, before calling on her "fellow common sense independent-minded Democrats" to join her, especially if they can "no longer stomach the direction that so-called woke Democratic Party idelogues are taking our country."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Though Gabbard ran as a Democrat in the 2020 election, she has often criticized and questioned the party and its leaders on various issues and topics, NBC News notes.
Fox News' Emily Compagno on Tuesday described Gabbard's defection as "a fiery takedown ahead of the midterms," per Mediaite. The former congresswoman will discuss her announcement with network host Tucker Carlson on Tuesday's episode of Tucker Carlson Tonight. Gabbard has appeared on Fox News multiple times before.
She spoke further about her decision with podcast host Joe Rogan in an episode of the Joe Rogan Experience released Tuesday.
-
August 17 editorial cartoonsCartoons Sunday’s political cartoons include voting rights of felons, misdirection on the way to the Alaska summit, and more
-
5 crime-ridden cartoons about National Guard deployment in DCCartoons Artists take on the crime of littering, the real criminals in DC, and more
-
Trump and Modi: the end of a beautiful friendship?In the Spotlight Harsh US tariffs designed to wrest concessions from Delhi have been condemned as 'a new form of imperialism'
-
Border agents crash Newsom redistricting kickoffSpeed Read Armed federal Border Patrol agents amassed outside the venue where the California governor and other Democratic leaders were gathered
-
Man charged for hoagie attack as DC fights takeoverSpeed Read The Trump administration filed felony charges against a man who threw a Subway sandwich at a federal agent
-
Trump BLS nominee floats ending key jobs reportSpeed Read On Fox News, E.J. Antoni suggested scrapping the closely watched monthly jobs report
-
Trump picks conservative BLS critic to lead BLSspeed read He has nominated the Heritage Foundation's E.J. Antoni to lead the Bureau of Labor Statistics
-
Trump takes over DC police, deploys National GuardSpeed Read The president blames the takeover on rising crime, though official figures contradict this concern
-
Trump sends FBI to patrol DC, despite falling crimeSpeed Read Washington, D.C., 'has become one of the most dangerous cities anywhere in the world,' Trump said
-
Trump officials reinstating 2 Confederate monumentsSpeed Read The administration has plans to 'restore Confederate names and symbols' discarded in the wake of George Floyd's 2020 murder
-
Trump nominates Powell critic for vacant Fed seatspeed read Stephen Miran, the chair of Trump's Council of Economic Advisers and a fellow critic of Fed chair Jerome Powell, has been nominated to fill a seat on the Federal Reserve Board of Governors
