Trump Recycled Months Old Tulsi Gabbard Endorsement to Stage Detroit Campaign Event
Trump's campaign staged an endorsement event Tuesday from former Representative Tulsi Gabbard, who declared herself an independent in 2022 after leaving the Democratic Party. Gabbard, who has been campaigning for MAGA Republicans, joined Trump in Detroit to redeliver her endorsement:
“I endorsed President Trump today because he has those qualities, and he's proven that he is that commander-in-chief. Kamala Harris has proven she is not.”
Trump used the endorsement to boost his campaign
Trump's pushed Gabbard's endorsement in his campaign's newsletter, claiming the 2020 Democratic presidential candidate was "the second former Democrat presidential candidate" to endorse Trump. This statement, as will become clear later, falsely implies that the endorsement just happened Monday because it followed RFK's endorsement on Friday.
Trump's campaign newsletter
Trump campaign
Trump utilized the staged endorsement, posting video of the it to his own Truth Social and Twitter accounts. Trump’s campaign accounts also pushed the endorsement as a significant event, releasing an Trump / Gabbard "endorsement" graphic, posting video of the event, and pushing it's significance when paired with RFK Jr.'s Friday endorsement.
Trump’s staged endorsement created media buzz
Gabbard’s endorsement was reported across multiple media outlets as if it was breaking news, a gift to the Trump campaign. Many of these articles contained quotes and video clips of Gabbard using the Detroit staged endorsement event to attack Democratic nominee Kamala Harris.
Tulsi Gabbard already endorsed Trump months ago
MeidasTouch has uncovered that Gabbard had already endorsed Trump months ago meaning that Trump's Monday endorsement event in Detroit was staged.
In July, Gabbard posted a video to Twitter amassing 56,000 retweets and nearly 9 million views urging followers to vote for Trump even after Kamala Harris was set to replace Biden as the Democratic nominee:
Tulsi Gabbard: “The choice for us is very clear. If we cherish peace and freedom and if we love our country, we must vote against Kamala Harris in this election and vote for Donald Trump.”
That's not the only time Gabbard endorsed voting for Trump. During an May 2024 appearance on Jesse Watters' Fox News show, Gabbard pushed viewers to voting for Trump on November 5th:
"...the only way to save our democracy and reverse the damage that's already been done is when every single one of us as Americans, Democrats, Republicans, Independents, Libertarians, we take it upon ourselves to choose freedom to save our country, save our Democracy, and punish President Biden and his administration, those who are abusing their power, on November 5th, and vote for Donald Trump."
In March 2020, Gabbard endorsed Joe Biden. 5 months later, Biden picked Kamala Harris to be his running mate.
Tulsi Gabbard repeatedly expressed willingness to be Trump’s VP pick
In February, Gabbard told Fox News she was willing serve as Trump’s VP and help him implement his policies:
"I've not had conversations with [Trump] about being on the list of people he's considering for being VP. Of course, I'd be honored to be asked to serve in that capacity..."
Willingness to serve as Trump's VP may not technically be an endorsement, but it kind of virtually is. It reveals that Gabbard was willing to be on Trump's ticket and help him get elected.
MeidasTouch located 9 times that Gabbard has said she would be "honored" to become Trump's VP. Gabbard repeated this to Don Jr., the Nixon Library, Charlie Kirk, Real America's Voice, Tucker Carlson, Dave Rubin, Fox News, Piers Morgan, and Newsmax.
An endorsement from Gabbard wouldn't be shocking following all these comments that she wanted to be Trump's VP. Plus, she explicated endorsed voting for Trump months before Trump's staged endorsement event in Detroit on Monday.
Trump with Tulsi Gabbard and his staged endorsement event in Detroit on Monday
Gabbard's staged endorsement wasn't breaking news, but MAGA Republican and Trump supporting social media accounts paired it with RFK Jr's recent endorsement to claim Democrats were breaking for Trump. In other words, Trump was able to garner significant media coverage from the event, getting more milage out of Gabbard's stale, months-old endorsement.
