Tulsi Gabbard has ended her 2020 presidential bid, she announced in a video address — and endorsing Joe Biden. Learen more about the Hawaii Rep. and Iraq War veteran who made history with her congressional run.
UPDATE, 3/19/20, 11:15am ET: Rep. Tulsi Gabbard is dropping out of the 2020 race and endorsing Joe Biden for president, she announced in a video on March 19. “It’s clear that Democratic primary voters have chosen Vice President Joe Biden to be the person who will take on President Trump in the general election,” she said in the address, which you can watch below. “I’m confident that he will lead our country, guided by the spirit of aloha respect and compassion, and thus help heal the divisiveness that has been tearing our country apart.
ORIGINAL: Tulsi Gabbard, 38, is joining Elizabeth Warren, 70, as another Democrat and woman to contend for Donald Trump’s title as commander in chief. The Democratic representative from Hawaii made the announcement on Jan. 11, 2019, telling CNN’s Van Jones, “I have decided to run and will be making a formal announcement within the next week…There are a lot of reasons for me to make this decision. There are a lot of challenges that are facing the American people that I’m concerned about and that I want to help solve.” Get to know the candidate whose name will appear on a future primary ballot.
1. She’s the first Hindu and Samoan congressperson in US history. Gabbard is from Leloaloa, a small village on Tutuila Island in American Samoa. She became the first Samoan member of Congress in 2012, and is currently in her fourth term representing Hawaii’s second district. Gabbard was raised in a multi-faith family practicing both Christian and Hinduism, and is the first Hindu congressperson, as well. Along with Illinois Senator Tammy Duckworth, she’s the first female combat veteran ever elected to Congress — and now, the first female combat veteran to run for president.
Important announcement.
From Oahu, Hawaiʻi. #StandWithTulsi pic.twitter.com/XcHshtgVYA— Tulsi Gabbard ? (@TulsiGabbard) March 19, 2020
2. She made history as the youngest person to be elected in Hawaii’s state legislature. Gabbard was just 21 years old when she joined the Hawaii House of Representatives in 2002, remaining in the office for two years. If she wins the 2020 election, she would be the youngest president in United States history, at 39 years old. The youngest president so far was Theodore Roosevelt, who was 42.
3. She’s a combat veteran. She left the Hawaii State House of Representatives in 2004 to deploy with the Hawaii National Guard in a medical unit to Iraq. She volunteered for another deployment in 2008, that time as a “military police platoon leader training counterterrorism units,” per a profile from The Atlantic. In between the deployments, she graduated at the top of her class from an Officer Candidate School in Alabama.
4. Her focuses are health care, criminal justice reform, and climate change. “There is one main issue that is central to the rest, and that is the issue of war and peace,” Gabbard said during her announcement on CNN. “I look forward to being able to get into this and to talk about it in depth.”
5. She was Vice Chair of the Democratic National Committee until resigning. Gabbard gave up the position to endorse Senator Bernie Sanders’ bid for the 2016 presidential race. Now, she’s running against him.
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Sourse: hollywoodlife.com
