Democratic Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, a four-term congresswoman from Hawaii, hasn’t debated anyone since she was first elected in 2012. So nobody expected the 38-year-old combat veteran to steal the show Wednesday evening when she faced off against eight other leading Democratic contenders.
But steal it, she did, and in a spectacular manner. Despite speaking for just six and a half minutes in total — the third lowest among the presidential hopefuls — political polls, including the Drudge Report’s instant poll, demonstrated that Gabbard dominated the political competition.
And the winner is …
If the Hawaii congresswoman made an immediate impression with American voters, it wasn’t because of her policy positions. Social media was buzzing over Gabbard’s silver-streaked hair, with some viewers calling her stripes “strikingly subversive” and “fierce,” while others compared her to Disney villain Cruella Deville.
Whatever voters thought of her silver locks, Gabbard’s hairstyle helped her stand out from a crowded field of progressive candidates who sometimes appear to be fighting over who holds the most extreme platform. While the other candidates — collectively referred to by some as the “Democratic clown car” — competed to find out who hates President Donald Trump the most, Gabbard stuck with her strong suit: foreign policy
In fact, when she was asked a question about equal pay for women during her opening monologue, Gabbard pivoted and spoke about 9/11 instead. “I know the importance of our national security as well as the high cost of war and for too long our leaders have failed us, taking us from one regime change to the next, leading us into an arms race, costing trillions of our hard earned taxpayer dollars and countless lives,” she said.
“This insanity must end,” Gabbard continued. “As president I will take your taxpayer dollars and invest those dollars into serving your needs, things like healthcare, a green economy, good paying jobs, protecting our environment, and so much more.”
“Chickenhawk Cabinet”
Although she was just one of a very few Democrats to meet with Trump following his 2016 election victory, Gabbard joined in on the Trump-bashing Wednesday night, though she kept her criticism contained to her anti-interventionist stance. The Democratic maverick said that “this president and his chickenhawk Cabinet have led us to the brink of war with Iran,” referring to escalating tensions with the Islamic Republic.
Gabbard proved herself capable of verbally outmaneuvering her opponents, even if she argued semantics.
Ohio Rep. Tim Ryan disagreed with Gabbard that the U.S. should withdraw from Afghanistan, insisting that American armed forces are required to keep the Taliban in check. “When we weren’t in there, they started flying planes into our buildings,” he said.
“The Taliban didn’t attack us on 9/11; Al Qaeda attacked us on 9/11,” Gabbard quipped in response. Of course, Taliban control of Afghanistan is what allowed Al Qaeda to plan and execute the deadliest attack on U.S. soil, but Gabbard nonetheless left Ryan looking ignorant and outmatched with her quick-witted rebuttal.
Watch below:
Ryan: “We must stay engaged [in Middle East].” Gabbard: “Is that what you will tell the parents of those two soldiers who were just killed in Afghanistan?” #DemDebate pic.twitter.com/8gWqUm7Cja
— NBC News (@NBCNews) June 27, 2019
Stealing the spotlight
It was this moment that had viewers furiously typing Gabbard’s name into Internet search engines to find out more about the practicing Hindu who grew up in a “socially conservative household.” By the time the debate was finished, Gabbard was the most searched presidential candidate in almost every U.S. state, according to Google Trends.
The Army National Guard veteran accomplished all of this despite speaking for only 6.6 minutes. Conversely, Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren spoke for more than 9 minutes, while New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker dominated the stage for nearly 11 whole minutes. In the end, the time disparities did not matter. Gabbard pulled off the unexpected, taking her relatively unknown campaign, which was hovering around 1-3% of the Democratic vote, to national prominence.
Even The View co-host Meghan McCain, who has publicly criticized Gabbard in the past, couldn’t help but to walk away impressed by the congresswoman’s performance. [S]o far she’s coming across the most composed and authentic,” McCain wrote during the debate.
Democratic maverick
After her performance, Democratic contenders are likely to double down on their criticism of the dark horse candidate. Indeed, Gabbard is a bit of a “paradox” when it comes to the far left attitudes prevailing among her opponents.
A frequent critic of the Obama administration, Gabbard was among a tiny minority of Democrats to vote in 2015 to increase vetting standards against refugees from Syria and Iraq. She attracted bipartisan criticism for visiting Syrian dictator Bashar Al Assad in January 2017, and caused a stir for expressing “skepticism” that this regime was behind a chemical attack that killed dozens of innocent Syrians that same year.
Gabbard is a progressive star who stands out from a field of Democratic candidates who have increasingly alienated themselves in the eyes of American voters. By not being an anti-Trump clone Wednesday night, she has been thrust into the national spotlight. Perhaps her opponents should take notes.
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