Tulsi Gabbard, who sought 2020 Democratic nomination, says she's leaving party - CNN

Washington CNN  — 

Former congresswoman and 2020 statesmanlike campaigner Tulsi Gabbard announced connected Tuesday that she is leaving the Democratic Party.

For Gabbard, the announcement is the culmination of years successful which she has been progressively astatine likelihood with the Democratic Party and its policies.

“I tin nary longer stay successful today’s Democratic Party. It’s present nether the implicit power of an elitist cabal of warmongers driven by cowardly wokeness, who disagreement america by racializing each contented & stoking anti-white racism, who actively enactment to undermine our God-given freedoms enshrined successful our Constitution,” Gabbard said successful a video posted to societal media. The announcement was made connected the archetypal occurrence of her caller podcast, “The Tulsi Gabbard Show.”

Gabbard, who made past by becoming the archetypal American Samoan and practicing Hindu successful Congress pursuing her predetermination successful 2012, besides criticized what she said were Democrats’ “open border” policies and anti-police rhetoric.

The erstwhile congresswoman, who represented Hawaii’s 2nd district, has agelong been a unsocial and occasionally arguable dependable successful the Democratic Party.

As 1 of the Democratic statesmanlike contenders successful the crowded 2020 field, she touted herself arsenic an Iraq War seasoned and staked retired a distinctly anti-interventionist overseas policy. On the run trail, she blamed US involution successful Latin America for creating instability that triggered the surge successful migration crossed the confederate US borderline and was a co-sponsor of respective bills aimed astatine keeping migrant families unneurotic astatine the border.

And erstwhile Gabbard was moving for president, Hillary Clinton suggested successful an interrogation that she was being groomed to tally arsenic a third-party campaigner and was a favourite of the Russians. Clinton suggested that the idiosyncratic she was talking astir was a “Russian asset,” portion not naming the Hawaii Democrat.

Gabbard filed a defamation lawsuit implicit the substance that she subsequently dropped successful May 2020.

Gabbard endorsed Joe Biden aft suspending her statesmanlike run successful 2020, but she has since been a vocal professional of the President and regularly appears connected Fox News.

“President Biden campaigned connected a connection of unity, healing the partisan disagreement bringing the state together. He conscionable gave a large code saying supporters of President (Donald) Trump are the astir extremist radical successful our state and a menace to our democracy. That’s fractional the country,” she said successful her announcement video connected Tuesday.

Gabbard besides faced criticisms earlier this twelvemonth from section Democrats who voted to condemn her “for participating successful an lawsuit that raised funds that volition harm Democrats crossed the country” aft she spoke astatine the Conservative Political Action Conference.

The erstwhile congresswoman did not bespeak which enactment she would beryllium affiliated with moving guardant but called connected “independent-minded Democrats” to articulation her successful leaving the Democratic Party.