The presidential debates will be here before you know it. And Trump is going for the jugular.
Because a former Democrat gave Trump this secret weapon against Kamala Harris.
Former President Donald Trump is turning up the heat as he prepares to take on Vice President Kamala Harris, enlisting the fierce and unyielding Tulsi Gabbard to sharpen his debate skills.
According to The New York Times, Trump welcomed Gabbard to his Mar-a-Lago estate in southern Florida for a recent debate prep session, signaling that he’s gearing up for an all-out confrontation with Harris.
Gabbard, a former Democratic representative from Hawaii, made headlines in 2019 when she delivered a devastating blow to Harris during a Democratic primary debate. Her relentless takedown of Harris’ troubling record as a prosecutor is still remembered today as a defining moment of that primary season.
Trump campaign Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed Gabbard’s involvement, proudly stating that Trump doesn’t need the typical debate prep that others rely on. “He’s already proven himself as one of the best debaters in political history, as shown by his knockout blow to Joe Biden,” Leavitt said.
“But he will continue to meet with respected policy advisers and effective communicators like Tulsi Gabbard, who successfully dominated Kamala Harris on the debate stage in 2020.”
Gabbard’s 2019 takedown of Harris remains a sore spot for the vice president. Gabbard tore into Harris, pointing out her hypocrisy and failures as a prosecutor.
“She put over 1,500 people in jail over marijuana violations and then laughed about it when asked if she ever smoked marijuana,” Gabbard said, to roaring applause from the audience.
“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 [the] cash bail system in place that impacts poor people in the worst kind of way,” Gabbard continued.
It was a humiliating moment for Harris, with even the mainstream media admitting as much. The Associated Press called it a “low moment” for her campaign, and The New York Times reported that many of Harris’ advisers saw that debate as the beginning of the end for her 2020 presidential aspirations.
Harris ultimately dropped out of the race in December 2019, months before the first votes were cast.
Gabbard, who stayed in the race until March 2020, has since distanced herself from the Democratic Party, denouncing it in October 2022 as being under the control of an “elitist cabal of warmongers” driven by “cowardly wokeness” and stoking “anti-white racism.”
Last month, Gabbard announced her support for Trump’s 2024 bid, writing on X, “We need leaders back in the White House who are committed to the Constitution, defending our God-given freedoms, and towards a peaceful and prosperous future. Donald Trump and JD Vance are such leaders, and I look forward to doing all I can to get them elected in November.”
Trump’s unconventional debate prep is just another sign that he’s playing by his own rules.
Rather than rehearsing against a stand-in opponent, Trump engages in discussions with his advisers about potential questions and topics. Some of his aides even role-played as debate moderators during these sessions.
In addition, Trump has been refining his policy positions with input from Republican lawmakers and his running mate, Senator JD Vance.
The first showdown between Trump and Harris is scheduled for September 10 in Philadelphia, to be aired on ABC News and moderated by David Muir and Linsey Davis.
Trump has called for additional debates on Fox News and NBC, but so far, Harris has only agreed to the ABC debate and one more in October.
Stay tuned to The Federalist Wire.
