To borrow a line from vice presidential nominee Kamala Harris, U.S. Representative Tulsi Gabbard “spent four years full-time on Fox News criticizing president Obama” during his administration. She’s also spent quite a bit of time criticizing other Democrats on the Trump-leaning platform. But on Thursday, in a tweet, Gabbard appeared to feel some kind of way that she was not invited to take part in the Democratic National Convention, which took place Monday through Thursday of this week.
In response to a tweet highlighting Gabbard’s absence from the DNC despite earning delegates, Gabbard wrote, “You’re correct—I was not invited to participate in any way.” The other six candidates who earned delegates in the primary were offered a speaking slot at the convention.
On Twitter, a number of Republicans seemed surprised, offended even, that Gabbard had been overlooked, suggesting that it was her squabble with Harris on a primary debate stage that led organizers to overlook her from the week’s festivities. However, Biden-Harris supporters have pointed out that the Republicans’ disappointment in the decision not to feature Tulsi is exactly why she did not need to be involved.
“Republicans are upset that Tulsi Gabbard wasn’t invited to speak at the DNC in case you were wondering why Tulsi Gabbard wasn’t invited to speak at the DNC,” one twitter user wrote.
During the primary season, Harris also noted that Gabbard’s pursuit of the Democratic nomination was “unfortunate,” given the fact that she was so critical of the party. “When Donald Trump was elected, not even sworn in, [Gabbard] buddied up to Steve Bannon to get a meeting with Donald Trump in the Trump Tower,” Harris said at the time.
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Gabbard also received an endorsement for her presidency from David Duke, the former Grand Wizard of the Knights of the Klu Klux Klan. Though she disavowed his support, her vocal discontent with the Democratic party has made her a favorite of the far right. In an interview last year, Hillary Clinton suggested that she was a Russian asset being groomed by a foreign adversary to disrupt the 2020 election. Then in December, when Democrats voted to impeach Donald Trump, Gabbard voted “present.”
Despite her history, Gabbard told CNN’s Jake Tapper that she was not told why she was not invited to speak at the convention. Although one could be sure she has a few guesses.