Democratic presidential contender Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-Hawaii), who watchers said was one of the best performers at the recent debate, will take a two-week break from campaigning to report for active duty.
Gabbard was set to report for duty with the Hawaiian Army National Guard in Indonesia.
“I love our country. I love being able to serve our country in so many ways including as a soldier. And so while some people are telling me, like gosh this is a terrible time to leave the campaign, can’t you find a way out of it? You know that’s not what this is about.”
“I’m not really thinking about how this will impact my campaign. I’m looking forward to being able to fulfill my service and my responsibility,” she told CBS.
Gabbard deployed to Iraq in 2004 with the National Guard and to Kuwait in 2008. She was in Hawaii over the weekend and prepared to deploy on Wednesday, Aug. 14.
Gabbard, who has been attacked for meeting with Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad, says that her military experience is a prime qualification for president and called the repeated attacks “a baseless smear.”
“Assad is a brutal dictator in the vein of Saddam Hussein being a brutal dictator in the vein of Gadhafi being a brutal dictator. That doesn’t mean that we should be sending more of my brothers and sisters in uniform to go and fight, acting as the world’s police topping these brutal dictators,” she said.
Gabbard, announcing her candidacy earlier this year, told supporters: “I love our country. It’s why I decided to enlist after 9/11, why I serve in Congress, and why I’m offering to serve as your commander in chief—to protect you, our Constitution, our freedom.”
Gabbard Hasn’t Qualified for Next Debates
Gabbard garnered praise for her performance at the July 31 debate, repeatedly attacking Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) for her record as a prosecutor. Polls showed support for Harris dive amid increased support for Gabbard.The other eight are: former Vice President Joe Biden; South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg; former Rep. Beto O’Rourke (D-Texas); and Senators Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Kamala Harris (D-Calif.), Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), and Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.).
Gabbard has met the donor criteria but has only had one poll that qualifies under the committee’s criteria.
The polls must be released between June 28 and Aug. 28 and conducted by only certain pollsters. The polls cannot overlap in terms of being in the same state or region or by the same pollster.
Gabbard’s campaign has been encouraging supporters to answer phone calls from unknown numbers, saying the caller could be a pollster, in addition to signing up to participate in online surveys.
