- Gabbard was named to Donald Trump’s transition team last week
Tulsi Gabbard is helping Donald Trump prepare for his showdown with Kamala Harris next week.
The former Hawaii Democrat, now an independent, warned Trump — or others — not to underestimate Harris on the debate stage.
In just 10 days, Trump and Harris will stand on the same stage in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania for their first debate.
Gabbard has experience facing Harris in two separate debates. They shared the stage for the second debate of the 2020 Democratic presidential primary in Detroit, Michigan in July 2019 and the fourth debate of that cycle in Westerville, Ohio on October 15, 2019.
“I think Kamala Harris has a lot of experience. She should not be underestimated,” Gabbard told CNN host Dana Bash during an interview on State of the Union on Sunday morning.
Former Hawaii Rep. Tulsi Gabbard faced Kamala Harris in two separate debates in the 2020 Democratic primary — and warns Donald Trump not to ‘underestimate’ the vice president
She added: “If I can help President Trump in any way, it would be by sharing the experiences I had with her during the 2020 debate.”
Trump’s former Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross, 86, also warned Trump before his debate not to come on too “strong” with Harris.
“The only danger is that Trump is big and strong and a man,” Ross said Sunday morning during an interview with The Cats Roundtable.
He continued: ‘He has to be careful that he is not seen as someone who is pushing a woman. People don’t like to see a woman being pushed too hard.’
Gabbard ran for the Democratic nomination in 2020, but in 2022 she decided to join an independent political party.
Bash noted the irony that Gabbard once ran for the White House as a Democrat and is now helping a Republican candidate prepare for a debate against her former rival in the primaries.
The former Hawaii lawmaker said Trump’s biggest advantage would be if he focused on the way Harris has already tried to distance herself from her record as vice president, including her failure as Biden’s “border czar.”
On August 26 of this year, Gabbard officially endorsed Trump’s candidacy for a second, non-consecutive term in the White House.
A day later, Trump named her honorary chair of his presidential transition team.
Of the four debates, Gabbard appeared on stage with Harris during two of the Democratic presidential primaries in the 2020 election cycle
This means Gabbard will join Trump’s sons Donald Jr. and Eric Trump, independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and vice presidential nominee Sen. J.D. Vance in leading the former president’s team as he prepares for his transition to the White House, should he win in November.
Gabbard is a lieutenant colonel in the Army Reserve and served four terms (2013-2021) as a Democrat in the U.S. Congress from Hawaii.
She told Bash that she has not discussed her role after the transition team with Trump, including whether or not she could serve in his administration if he wins.