(Julianna Frieman, Headline USA) Former Democrat Rep. Tulsi Gabbard of Hawaii revealed at a Tuesday night rally with GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump in Greensboro, N.C., that she had officially joined the Republican Party.
Gabbard, who endorsed Trump in late August, left the Democratic Party in 2022, when she changed her party affiliation to independent. At Trump’s rally, Gabbard announced she had officially become a registered Republican.
“The Democrat Party has no home for people like us, but we do have a home in the Republican Party—where we are welcomed with open arms by President Trump and so many of you who love our country,” Gabbard said.
The one-time Democratic presidential candidate and former vice chair of the Democratic National Committee cited Trump’s leadership and transformation of the Republican Party as her reason for moving across the political aisle.
“You know, I was a Democrat for over 20 years,” the 43-year-old Trump transition team member remarked. “Today’s Democrat Party is completely unrecognizable, which points to the clear choice that we have in this Election Day.”
Gabbard blasted Vice President Kamala Harris on censorship, foreign wars and illegal immigration.
“When you look at the party of Kamala Harris, for example, she is anti-freedom; she is pro-censorship; she is pro-open-borders; and she is pro-war, without even pretending to care about peace,” Gabbard said.
Several Republicans, including Trump’s campaign account and the official GOP account, took to social media to embrace Gabbard as part of the party.
“Welcome to the Republican Party, @TulsiGabbard!” the GOP wrote on X.
Welcome to the Republican Party, @TulsiGabbard!pic.twitter.com/njRZoI3rmL
— GOP (@GOP) October 23, 2024
Trump attorney Alina Habba wrote, “Red looks good on you @TulsiGabbard. Welcome to the party of America first, prosperity and safety.”
Red looks good on you @TulsiGabbard welcome to the party of America first, prosperity and safety. 🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/HFB7YgFBLc
— Alina Habba (@AlinaHabba) October 23, 2024
“Welcome to the Republican Party, @TulsiGabbard,” wrote Rep. Byron Donalds, R-Fla.
“We are the party of the people,” Donalds added. “We are the party of equality. We are the party of peace. We are the party of common sense. And together, we will UNITE AMERICA.”
Welcome to the Republican Party @TulsiGabbard.
We are the party of the people.
We are the party of equality.
We are the party of peace.
We are the party of common sense.And together, we will UNITE AMERICA 🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/4IQdTQBZjp
— Byron Donalds (@ByronDonalds) October 23, 2024
“Look who just joined the Republican Party!!!! @TulsiGabbard is so down to earth, I mean look at her, she’s doing her own make up on the way to our event a few weeks ago. I thought it was so cute that I had to grab a pic!” wrote former NASCAR driver Danica Patrick, who recently declared she would cast her first-ever vote for Trump.
“She has so much integrity, she very smart [sic], and she clearly has passion for our country,” Patrick wrote in an X post. “Her bravery continues to inspire us all to follow a moral compass and think for ourselves!”
Look who just joined the Republican Party!!!! @TulsiGabbard is so down to earth, I mean look at her, she’s doing her own make up on the way to our event a few weeks ago. I thought it was so cute that I had to grab a pic!
She has so much integrity, she very smart, and she clearly… pic.twitter.com/Ee1xRwH9Ys
— Danica Patrick (@DanicaPatrick) October 23, 2024
Patrick, fittingly enough, publicly revealed her first-time-voter status earlier this month at a townhall with vice presidential candidate JD Vance, which was also in Greensboro.
Gabbard previously visited Greensboro earlier this year at the invitation of her former congressional colleague, ex-Rep. Mark Walker, R-N.C., where she told Headline USA in an exclusive interview that she would welcome the opportunity to serve in a high-level Trump Cabinet position, such as Secretary of State.
“I could directly wrestle control away from the military–industrial complex and the neocons of Washington and actually be in a position to help effect the kind of policies President Trump talks about: to actually bring about peace, to walk us back from the brink of nuclear war—an issue he talks about quite strongly and with great concern—and to get our country back on track,” said Gabbard, an Army veteran and a current battalion commander in the military reserves who served on the House Foreign Affairs Committee.
Julianna Frieman is a freelance writer published by the Daily Caller, Headline USA, The Federalist, and The American Spectator. Follow her on Twitter at @JuliannaFrieman.
