Tulsi Gabbard, a former congresswoman and the first Hindu American to run for president in 2020, announced on Tuesday that she is leaving the ruling Democratic Party, calling it a “elitist cabal of war-mongers.”
“I can no longer remain in today’s Democratic Party – which is now under the complete control of an elitist cabal of war-mongers driven by cowardly wokeness,” Gabbard said in a tweet.
Gabbard, who is the first American Samoan and Hindu elected to Congress, has a reputation for speaking out against things like war and American foreign policy despite receiving heavy criticism from her party’s members of Congress.
The Iraq War veteran stated that the Democratic Party did not share her belief in a government “of the people, by the people, and for the people,” despite her assertions. She urged other “independent-minded” Democrats to follow her in leaving the party, saying, “Unfortunately, it (the Democratic Party) stands for a government that is of, by, and for the powerful elite.”
“Now, I’m calling on my fellow… independent-minded Democrats to join me in leaving the Democratic Party. If you can no longer stomach the direction that so-called woke Democratic Party ideologues are taking our country, I invite you to join me,”Gabbard stated, but did not go into further detail about her future plans or whether she will join the Republican Party.
Gabbard retired from the House of Representatives in 2021, and she became increasingly estranged from the Democratic Party after withdrawing from the 2020 presidential race. She has been a vocal critic of Biden on Twitter, accusing him of not caring about the American people.
“The Biden Admin does not care about the American people. Permanent Washington loots us to serve the interests of the arms-manufacturing global oligarchy while we struggle to pay for gas/food/rent and our soldiers go on food stamps,” she had tweeted a few days before making her announcement.
The politician says in the introduction to her podcast, The Tulsi Gabbard Show, that she has dedicated her entire adult life to serving the country. “People in Washington love labels, and they’ve called me a lot of different things over the years,” Gabbard, who is frequently viewed as a rebel within her own party, says.
But she claims that all she cares about is the truth and doing what is right. “This podcast means a lot to me. It’s about life, about those we care about, about our freedom, and about the kind of future we want,” she says, adding that listeners should not expect scripted conversations because she will be “taking a deep dive” into everyday issues. “You’ll hear my perspectives, no filters, and interesting conversations with guests from all walks of life,” she concludes.
