Former Rep. Tulsi Gabbard says former President Donald Trump plans to zero in on Vice President Kamala Harris’ “disastrous” economic and foreign policy on the debate stage Tuesday night in Philadelphia.
Ms. Gabbard, who represented Hawaii as a Democrat but is helping Mr. Trump, said Ms. Harris will try to steer the conversation away from stumbles during the Biden-Harris administration. Issues such as price inflation and the chaotic U.S. military withdrawal from Afghanistan are likely to come up in the debate.
“He is looking forward to focusing on Kamala Harris’ record,” Ms. Gabbard told “Fox and Friends” on Monday. “Why hasn’t she fixed the things, that she is now saying are broken, over the last three and a half years? She is the incumbent candidate in this race.”
Ms. Gabbard is helping Mr. Trump prepare for the debate on ABC News because of her experience. She ran for president in the 2020 Democratic primary and attacked Ms. Harris’ prosecutorial record from the debate stage.
“Senator Harris says she’s proud of her record as a prosecutor and that she’ll be a prosecutor president. But I’m deeply concerned about this record,” Ms. Gabbard said at the time. “There are too many examples to cite, but she put over 1,500 people in jail for marijuana violations and then laughed about it when she was asked if she ever smoked marijuana.”
Since that race, Ms. Gabbard has drifted toward Republican candidates, including Mr. Trump. She was named a member of his transition team.
Mr. Trump was impressed by her performance in the last cycle and enlisted her for debate prep.
“Kamala Harris is a politician in the worst sense of the word,” Ms. Gabbard said. “[Mr. Trump] is very well-versed on Kamala Harris’ record.”
Democrats have dismissed criticism from Ms. Gabbard in the past, saying that her debate critiques in the 2020 cycle were inaccurate at times and that she largely seeks media attention. They also say she tends to parrot GOP talking points on “woke” issues and the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Ms. Gabbard, speaking to Fox, said Mr. Trump will perform well on Tuesday night but added that Ms. Harris will come prepared with well-rehearsed lines.
“I think he did a fantastic job in his debate against [President] Joe Biden, clearly the results speak for themselves, and he will do the same in this debate with Kamala Harris,” Ms. Gabbard said.
But, she added, “Vice President Harris should not be underestimated.”
• Tom Howell Jr. can be reached at thowell@washingtontimes.com.
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