A recent report says that former President Donald Trump, the frontrunner for the 2024 Republican candidacy, and his key advisors engaged in discussions with Tulsi Gabbard amid speculation about who his running mate will be.
According to The Washington Post, discussions were held regarding potential alterations to the Department of Defense under a Trump administration if he were to win in November. Over the past year, Trump and Gabbard have met in person at least once.
“The talks with Gabbard — who has staked out a role as an outspoken critic of aid to Ukraine and U.S. military interventions overseas — are part of a broader conversation about how Trump would manage the Pentagon differently if voters award him a second term,” the Post reported. “Trump has repeatedly told advisers and donors in recent months that one of his biggest mistakes was his personnel choices at the Pentagon, where he says he was stymied by officials with diverging opinions.
“He sought to immediately pull out of many countries where the United States had troops, wanted to withdraw from NATO at times because he said other countries were not paying enough, questioned traditional alliances, praised and negotiated with dictators considered foes of the United States, and clashed repeatedly with the Republican establishment, particularly in the Senate, on foreign policy,” the Post’s report continued.
Gabbard and Trump met in person at least once last year. According to advisers, Gabbard has frequently aligned herself with Trump’s post-presidency worldview. These advisers, speaking on the condition of anonymity, revealed that discussions between Gabbard, Trump, and his team have centered on overseas military engagements and Trump’s discontent with Republican positions on foreign policy.
Additionally, Trump’s advisers are hopeful that Gabbard, who serves in the Army Reserve, could attract independent voters in a general election and advocate for Trump’s military policies, as suggested by one individual familiar with the strategy in comments to the Post.
🚨New: Tulsi Gabbard held a meeting with President Trump today. @TulsiGabbard pic.twitter.com/ok3JlFMr1x
— The Calvin Coolidge Project (@TheCalvinCooli1) February 15, 2024
Gabbard, a former House Democrat who ran for president in the 2020 presidential election, said last year that she would be open to having a “conversation” with Trump about potentially being his running mate.
