Former President Donald Trump has enlisted the help of 2020 Democratic presidential candidate Tulsi Gabbard as he prepares to debate Vice President Kamala Harris, according to The New York Times. Gabbard, a former Democratic representative from Hawaii, famously lambasted Harris over her record as a prosecutor during a Democratic primary debate in 2019.
Gabbard visited Trump at his Mar-a-Lago estate in southern Florida to “help sharpen his attacks in a recent practice session,” the Times reported. Trump campaign Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed that Gabbard was involved with Trump’s debate prep, telling the Times in a statement that Trump has “proven to be one of the best debaters in political history as evidenced by his knockout blow to Joe Biden.”
“He does not need traditional debate prep but 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,” Leavitt added.
During the Democratic primary debate five years ago, Gabbard ripped into Harris’ record as a prosecutor.
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“She put over 1,500 in jail over marijuana violations and then laughed about it when asked if she ever smoked marijuana,” Gabbard said to the applause of 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 worse kind of way.”
In a recent article, the Associated Press described the 2019 debate as a “low moment” for the Harris campaign, and The New York Times reported in 2019 that many of her advisers pointed to the debate exchange with Gabbard as the beginning of the end of her 2020 presidential bid. She dropped out of the primary in December 2019 before the first votes were cast. Gabbard stayed in the race until March of 2020.
The former congresswoman from Hawaii left the Democratic Party in October 2022, saying it “is under the complete control of an elitist cabal of warmongers who are driven by cowardly wokeness, who divide us by racializing every issue and stoking anti-white racism, who actively work to undermine our God-given freedoms that are enshrined in our Constitution, who are hostile to people of faith and spirituality.”
Last month, Gabbard threw her support behind 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.”
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Trump’s debate prep differs from how most candidates get ready to face off against their opponents. Instead of practicing against a mock opponent, Trump discusses potential questions and topics with his advisers, according to the Times. Sometimes, Trump aides sit in chairs facing the former president and act as the debate moderators. Trump has also spent time discussing policy positions with Republican lawmakers and his running mate, Sen. JD Vance (R-OH).
The first debate between Trump and Harris is set to take place in Philadelphia on September 10 on ABC News and will be moderated by David Muir and Linsey Davis. Trump has pushed for two additional debates — one on Fox News on September 4 and another on NBC on September 25 — but Harris only agreed to the ABC News debate and one other in October.
