OAN Staff Blake Wolf
2:26 PM – Wednesday, November 13, 2024
President-elect Donald Trump has announced on Wednesday that he has picked former Democrat congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard to be the director of national intelligence.
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Gabbard, a former Hawaii Democrat Representative and Army National Guard Veteran was selected after announcing her departure from the Democrat party in 2022, and was seen numerous times alongside Trump on the campaign trail, as well as serving on Trump’s transition team.
Trump initially announced the decision to select Gabbard in a post on Truth Social, before announcing the appointment on X.
“I am pleased to announce that former Congresswoman, Lieutenant Colonel Tulsi Gabbard, will serve as Director of National Intelligence (DNI). For over two decades, Tulsi fought for our Country and the Freedoms of all Americans. As a former Candidate for the Democrat Presidential Nomination, she has broad support in both Parties – She is now a proud Republican!” Trump announced.
“I know Tulsi will bring the fearless spirit that has defined her illustrious career to our Intelligence Community, championing our Constitutional Rights, and securing Peace through strength. Tulsi will make us all proud!” Trump continued.
Gabbard previously unsuccessfully ran for president as a Democrat in 2020, however, she had a viral moment in a 2020 presidential debate as she ripped into then-presidential candidate Kamala Harris, essentially ending her campaign.
“I want to bring the conversation back to the broken criminal justice system that is disproportionately negatively impacting black and brown people all across this country today. Now Senator Harris says she’s proud of her record as a prosecutor and that she’ll be a prosecutor president, but I’m deeply concerned about this record,” Gabbard stated during a 2019 Democrat presidential debate.
“There are too many examples to cite but she put over 1,500 people in jail for marijuana violations and then laughed about it when she was asked if she ever smoked maijuana. 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, effectively ending Harris’s 2020 election bid.
Gabbard’s masterful exposal of Harris was seen as valuable to the Trump campaign as Gabbard was utilized by Trump and his team prior to the 2024 presidential debate, and has worked alongside Trump ever since.
“If I can be helpful to President Trump in any way, it really is just sharing the experience that I had with her on that debate stage in 2020, and frankly helping to point out some ways that Kamala Harris has already shown that she’s trying to move away from her record, move away from her positions,” Gabbard previously stated.
Gabbard’s nomination as the director of national intelligence is another indication that president-elect Trump intends to move away from U.S. military intervention in foreign affairs, as the “America First” movement has gained traction.
Gabbard’s new role empowers her to be the top intelligence advisor to the White House, as well as overseeing 18 spy agencies, and providing president-elect Trump with daily intelligence briefings.
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