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Vice President Kamala Harris’ tendency to rely on scripted responses reveals her disregard for voters, says former Democrat Tulsi Gabbard, who famously criticized Harris during a 2019 debate.
“Kamala Harris today is the same person who ran for president in 2020 in the sense that she is great at delivering well-rehearsed lines on a debate stage,” Gabbard told The Post.
“What’s most insulting,” she added, “is that she thinks the American people are so stupid as to believe her well-rehearsed lines and ignore the reality of our lives and the struggles that so many have been facing directly because of her and her time in this administration.”
Gabbard, who represented Hawaii in the House of Representatives for four terms before running for president in 2020, has since left the Democratic Party and now supports Donald Trump. She spoke with The Post at a weekend event promoting Trump’s bid for a second term.
Harris has other vulnerabilities beyond her reliance on scripted answers. Gabbard gave a grim evaluation of Harris’ track record.
“People can’t afford as much as they used to be able to afford, and they’re struggling just to make basic ends meet,” Gabbard said. “Directly, because of Kamala Harris and Joe Biden’s foreign-policy decisions, we sit on the brink of World War Three and nuclear Armageddon and are embroiled in multiple wars around the world.”
At the event — where Robert F. Kennedy Jr. also appeared on stage — Gabbard’s goal was to “shine a light on the truth and remind the American people about Kamala Harris’ record and about President Trump’s record and the kind of success that he had in every way that Kamala Harris has failed.”
Gabbard, the first Samoan-American to serve as a voting member of Congress, is widely remembered for her sharp critique of Harris during the 2019 Democratic presidential debate in Detroit. She attacked Harris’ record as California attorney general, citing her jailing of over 1,500 people for marijuana violations, blocking evidence that could have exonerated a death-row inmate, and reportedly keeping inmates in state prisons “beyond their sentences to use them as cheap labor,” according to Politico, which noted Harris “stumbled through an answer.” The exchange damaged Harris’ campaign, leading to her dropping out before the Iowa caucuses without securing a single delegate.
While Harris can deliver scripted lines — as she did in the Sept. 10 debate with Trump — Gabbard argues there’s little substance behind them.
“When it comes down to the issues that actually matter to the American people,” Gabbard said, “Harris is missing in action, avoiding accountability for her role over the last three-and-a-half-plus years, almost four years in the White House. From our open borders to historic inflation to the rising cost of living, she has been part of the problem.”
According to Gabbard, Harris is deliberately hiding her true self, instead presenting a crafted image with the help of “propaganda media and Big Tech” to align with what her pollsters think will help her win the election.
Gabbard, who published her book For Love of Country: Leave the Democrat Party Behind this year, said she’s encountered widespread voter dissatisfaction during her travels through swing states like Nevada.
“There are a lot of people who are frustrated with politics as usual, feeling forgotten by Washington leaders,” Gabbard said. “Look at what happened in East Palestine, Ohio, the wildfires in my home state of Hawaii, and the communities in Louisiana still struggling after multiple hurricanes. So many people feel left behind.”
The Trump campaign is focusing on these voters, Gabbard said, adding, “No matter how hard Kamala Harris tries, she can’t escape responsibility for these issues. That’s where both our challenge and our opportunity lie in the days ahead.”
