Donald Trump’s Campaign Congratulates Tulsi Gabbard After Kamala Harris Exits 2020 Race
Kamala Harris dropped out of the 2020 Democratic presidential primary on Tuesday following reports of a struggling campaign mired in turmoil. Not long after, a 2020 Twitter account of Donald Trump‘s campaign, Trump War Room, congratulated candidate Tulsi Gabbard, who has clashed with Harris in debates multiple times, USA Today reports.
“BREAKING NEWS: @KamalaHarris has ended her campaign for president. Congratulations @TulsiGabbard!” the account tweeted.
Harris had a few words in response to the post.
“I rest my case,” she tweeted, likely referring to the criticisms she leveled at Gabbard during the November debate.
During the debate, Harris attacked Gabbard for criticizing the Barack Obama administration and also pointed to the Hawaii representative’s criticism of the Democratic Party throughout her current campaign, per Fox News. According to Harris, the Democratic Party needs a nominee that can “bring the country back together.”
In response, Gabbard accused Harris of trafficking in “lies and smears and innuendos” and suggested that the California senator’s alleged approach is a sign that she cannot directly address the “substance” of her argument.
The pair also clashed back in July when Gabbard criticized Harris’ prosecutorial record during her time as attorney general in California. The 38-year-old congresswoman said that Harris jailed over 1,500 people for marijuana violations and claimed that the senator laughed about it when questioned about her own marijuana use.
“She kept people in prison beyond their sentences to use them as cheap labor for the state of California,” Gabbard added.
Gabbard then pressed Harris to apologize to the “people who suffered” during her time as a prosecutor. In response, she defended her record and said she was “proud” of the work she accomplished as attorney general of California.
Following the July clash, Harris’ RealClearPolitics polling average began to decline and never quite recovered. At her peak, she was at 15.2 percent average support; as of December 2, she had 3.4 percent support.
Despite their public spats, Gabbard sent Harris well-wishes following news of her withdrawal from the presidential race.
“Sending my best wishes to @KamalaHarris, her family & supporters who have campaigned so hard. While we disagree on some issues, we agree on others & I respect her sincere desire to serve the American people. I look forward to working together on the challenges we face as a nation.”
The Trump campaign has previously tweeted positively about Gabbard and shared comments that the Hawaii politician has made. In one case, the campaign shared a video where she claimed that the Democratic party is not “by and for the people.”
?"Our Democratic Party, unfortunately, is not the party that is of, by and for the people." #DemDebate pic.twitter.com/B8Lq8i1NrR
— Trump War Room (@TrumpWarRoom) November 21, 2019
