Tulsi Gabbard, US Representative for Hawaii’s 2nd congressional district who in January announced her campaign to seek the Democratic nomination for President of the United States in 2020, for some unknown reason has a monkey—a despicable one at that—on her back: former KKK leader David Duke.
It began in November 2016, when Duke tweeted: “Tulsi Gabbard for Secretary of State! An example of the need for political realignment.” The tweet was linked to an article on Duke’s website, reporting that then president-elect Donald Trump had met with Congresswoman Gabbard, and that she had been mentioned as “a possible Secretary of State, or even Secretary of Defense.”
The article praised Gabbard for being unique in her “strong and principled opponent of any intervention in Syria.” The piece also conceded: “It’s not that she’s perfect. It has been noted that she at the very least pays lip-service to Israel. Everyone on Capital Hill does. Let’s face it, Zionism is the established religion in America.”
On Monday, Duke endorsed the congresswoman’s presidential bid, tweeting: “Tulsi Gabbard is currently the only Presidential candidate who doesn’t want to send White children off to die for Israel.”
Gabbard responded immediately to the unwanted praise, telling the NY Post: “I have strongly denounced David Duke’s hateful views and his so-called ‘support’ multiple times in the past, and reject his support. Publicizing Duke’s so-called ‘endorsement’ is meant to distract from my message: that I will end regime-change wars, work to end the new cold war and take us away from the precipice of a nuclear war, which is a greater danger now than ever before.”
Clearly, the element that binds the 68-years-old wizard and the Samoan-American Congresswoman is their objection to US military involvement in the Middle East.
Gabbard is not a rabid anti-Israel Democrat. In March 2015, she said that United States’ relationship with Israel “must rise above the political fray, as America continues to stand with Israel as her strongest ally.”
But in January 2017, Gabbard voted against a House resolution condemning the UN Security Council resolution on Israeli settlements in Judea and Samaria. She said: “While I remain concerned about aspects of the UN resolution, I share the Obama administration’s reservation about the harmful impact Israeli settlement activity has on the prospects for peace.”
And in January 2017, Gabbard met with President Bashar al-Assad in what she said was an unplanned meeting during a trip to Syria and Lebanon. She issued a press release stressing that that the trip had been approved by the House Ethics Committee and sponsored by Arab American Community Center for Economic and Social Services (AACCESS-Ohio). She was accompanied on her trip by the chairman of AACCESS, Bassem Khawam.
Clearly, David Duke’s endorsements are getting under her skin. When she was asked by CNN’s Jake Tapper whether she would like to disavow Duke, she snapped: “Just so you understand, I don’t know anything about David Duke, OK?”