Former U.S. Rep. Tulsi Gabbard had strong words for Kamala Harris after the Democratic nominee expressed that she was “honored” to receive endorsements from Liz and former Vice President Dick Cheney.
Earlier this week, former VP Cheney, a prominent architect of the Iraq War, declared that he would be voting for Harris in November. In his endorsement statement, he reiterated his frequent criticisms of Trump, calling the former president the “greatest threat” America has ever faced. He also falsely accused Trump of “directing” his followers to “violently overturn the election,” ignoring the fact that Trump told protesters to remain peaceful on January 6.
“Actually I was honored to have their endorsements, and I think that they both, as leaders who are well respected, are making an important statement, that it’s okay, and it’s important to put country above party,” Harris said in response to the Cheney’s backing.
During an event in Colorado with former Fox News star-turned-Independent media mogul Tucker Carlson, Gabbard had strong words for the Cheneys.
“I have a very simple message for my Democrat friends, my Independent friends, those who may not be sure about who they’re voting for in this election. Dick Cheney has just made the choice very clear. A vote for Kamala Harris is a vote for Dick Cheney, the architect of everything that has gone wrong in the Middle East for the last few decades,” Gabbard told the audience.
Gabbard, who contested both Kamala Harris and Joe Biden for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2020, made headlines with her criticism of Harris. Although Gabbard exited the race early, her pointed critique of Harris’ job as a California prosecutor and state attorney general during a tense debate is often credited with significantly sinking the current Dem nominee’s campaign before Biden picked her to be his running mate.
“And so it’s interesting because if you listen to the New York Times or some of the other mainstream media, they’re saying, oh, you know, don’t expect much from Kamala Harris in the way of policies and details and plans, and we’re not going to know much about what kind of president she’s been there, working in the White House the last three and a half years alongside Joe Biden,” Gabbard continued.
“She’s been the last one in the room, according to her, as these big decisions are being made. But we look at who she says, her response to the Dick Cheney announcement today was that she was honored to have his endorsement,” the former Democrat added, turning to the crowd.
“And we got military veterans in the house. Got a lot of you who probably served in the Middle East like I did. And so it sickened me, Tucker, to read those words today,” Gabbard noted further.
Last week, Gabbard flipped the script on CNN’s Dana Bash during an interview after the host attempted to imply that Trump’s visit to Arlington National Cemetery late last month was scandalous.
The former president, who several Gold Star families invited, helped commemorate the 13 U.S. servicemen and women who were killed during the Biden-Harris administration’s horrendously chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan. The U.S. military personnel were cut down by a suicide bomber at the Kabul International Airport along with at least 150 Afghans a few days before the last American troops left the country. Several more U.S. servicemembers were badly wounded.
In her interview with Bash, Gabbard—who has since joined Trump’s campaign to help him prep for his Sept. 10 debate with Harris—said that, to her way of thinking, the real scandal was the lack of media coverage of the commemoration itself and the focus on Trump.
“I know President Trump wanted to share that with others, especially given the fact that President Biden [and] Harris, I heard, were invited by some of these family members. They not only didn‘t come, they didn‘t even respond to that invitation,” Gabbard said. “Now to have Kamala Harris put this statement out yesterday saying that she stands with these families, she stands with the military and with veterans — you only have to look at the response that came from the Gold-Star families of these 13 service members of how offended they were by that statement.
“Given she has not made any effort — not on that third anniversary or any other time — to call them directly to offer her condolences and even apologies for their decisions that led to the loss of their loved ones,” Gabbard added.
