Report: Tulsi Gabbard on Trump and RFK Jr.'s VP ShortLists

Facts

• According to NBC News, both former Pres. Donald Trump and the independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. have considered the former Democratic Rep. Tulsi Gabbard of Hawaii as their running mate.¹
• The four-term congresswoman and 2020 presidential candidate who has been an outspoken critic of the Biden administration has identified as an independent since leaving the Democratic party in 2022.²
• This report comes a week after Gabbard said that she would be honored to join the Republican ticket in an appearance on Donald Trump Jr.'s 'Triggered' podcast.³
• Last month, the Washington Post reported that the former president himself — at least once in person last year — and his top advisers held discussions with Gabbard about foreign policy and how to manage the Defense Department if he wins a second term.⁴
• A Center Square poll released this week shows that seven percent of Republican voters want Gabbard as the running mate for Trump. Ron DeSantis leads with 18%, closely followed by Nikki Haley, Tim Scott and Vivek Ramaswamy.⁵
• Regarding Kennedy's ticket, a running mate is set to be announced next Tuesday. NFL star Aaron Rodgers and Minnesota Gov. Jesse Ventura are considered his top choices, as Gabbard, along with Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) and former presidential candidate Andrew Yang, reportedly turned him down.⁶

Sources: ¹NBC, ²Washington Examiner, ³The Washington Times, ⁴Washington Post, ⁵The Center Square and ⁶CBS.

Narratives

• Democratic narrative, as provided by The Guardian. Following her departure from the Democratic party, Gabbard has skillfully played the MAGA card, making a previously unheard-of right-wing turn. It's no wonder that both Trump and RFK Jr are considering her as a running mate. She is ambitious and aspires to power, with little apparent regard for ideology.
• Republican narrative, as provided by PJ Media. Gabbard may be the Republicans' favorite left-winger for her reasonable stances but, at the end of the day, she's just a Democrat-turned-Independent who achieved a conservative score of only 10% during her time in Congress. A place for her in the administration would be fine, but the vice president must be loyal to Trump and his agenda — especially if the Senate remains evenly divided.

Predictions