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Former Democratic Representative Tulsi Gabbard has endorsed Donald Trump’s presidential bid, marking a significant shift away from the party she represented four years ago.

She has aligned herself with the GOP nominee’s critiques of Vice President Kamala Harris and the chaotic Afghanistan War withdrawal.

Appearing with Trump in Detroit on Monday, Gabbard, a National Guard veteran who served two tours of duty in the Middle East before representing Hawaii in the U.

S.

House, stated that the GOP nominee “understands the grave responsibility that a president and commander in chief bears for every single one of our lives.

” The pair appeared at the National Guard Association of the United States on the third anniversary of the August 26, 2021, suicide bombing at Hamid Karzai International Airport, which killed 13 U.

S.

service members and more than 100 Afghans.

Gabbard accompanied Trump earlier Monday to Arlington National Cemetery, where the former president laid wreaths in honor of three of the slain service members—Sgt.

Nicole Gee, Staff Sgt.

Darin Hoover, and Staff Sgt.

Ryan Knauss.

On Monday, Gabbard praised Trump for “having the courage to meet with adversaries, dictators, allies, and partners alike in the pursuit of peace, seeing war as a last resort.

” She condemned the Democratic White House for the U.

S.

now “facing multiple wars on multiple fronts in regions around the world and closer to the brink of nuclear war than we ever have been before.

” The former president’s team announced later Monday that Gabbard would moderate a town hall with Trump that the campaign was planning for Thursday in La Crosse, Wisconsin.

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Gabbard has long signaled some level of support for Trump, even while she sat in the U.

S.

House as a Democrat.

In 2019, she was the only lawmaker to vote “present” when the House of Representatives impeached Trump for his dealings with Ukraine.

Gabbard was known during her four House terms for taking positions at odds with her own party’s establishment.

She was an early and vocal supporter of Senator Bernie Sanders’ 2016 Democratic presidential primary run, which made her popular with progressives.

Not seeking reelection in 2020, Gabbard ran for president herself instead, arguing that U.

S.

wars in the Middle East destabilized the region, made the U.

S.

less safe, and cost thousands of American lives, and that both Democrats and Republicans shared the blame.

She criticized Harris’ record during a primary debate and ultimately outlasted her in that race, which President Joe Biden ultimately won.

Gabbard endorsed Biden but became an independent two years later, saying the Democratic Party was dominated by an “elitist cabal of warmongers” and “woke” ideologues.

In the years since, she has campaigned for several high-profile Republicans, become a contributor to Fox News, and started a podcast.

Another former Democratic presidential contender also recently endorsed Trump.

Last week, independent candidate Robert F.

Kennedy Jr.

—who last year ran as a Democrat challenging Biden for the nomination—suspended his campaign and said he was backing Trump in the general election.

For more than 59 years, The Atlanta Voice has fought for the well-being of Atlanta’s African American community.

Please support our work.

For more than 59 years, The Atlanta Voice has provided a voice for the voiceless.

It is the largest audited African American community newspaper in Georgia.

Founded in 1966 by the late Ed Clayton and the late J.

Lowell Ware, The Atlanta Voice has evolved and redefined its efforts to better connect with the community it serves.