Tulsi Gabbard is reporting for active duty. Her campaign will have to wait.
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First things first for Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-Hawaii).
The 2020 presidential candidate is stepping away from her campaign for two weeks on Monday and will set out for Indonesia, where she's reporting for active duty with the Hawaii Army National Guard. There she'll participate in a joint training exercise with the Indonesian army.
Gabbard said some people have suggested to her that the timing is poor, as she seeks to hit the polling threshold required for qualification for the third Democratic debate in September. Currently, Gabbard has only hit the mark in one DNC-recognized poll, though four are required. She says she has hit the donor threshold, however.
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Regardless, the congresswoman brushed off those concerns, emphasizing that she did not think of finding a way out of reporting for duty. "You know that's not what this is about," Gabbard said.
Gabbard has been in the Hawaii Army National Guard since 2003 and served in Iraq from 2004 to 2005.
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Tim is a staff writer at The Week and has contributed to Bedford and Bowery and The New York Transatlantic. He is a graduate of Occidental College and NYU's journalism school. Tim enjoys writing about baseball, Europe, and extinct megafauna. He lives in New York City.
