Tulsi Gabbard may have qualms about some of her rivals, but she’s ruling out out an independent bid for president if she fails to get the Democratic nomination.
“No, I have ruled that out,” the Hawaii congresswoman told CNN Thursday.
Gabbard failed to qualify for the September primary debate by Wednesday’s deadline and is polling at 1.4%, according to the RealClearPolitics average. But in the first two debates, she filled a unique role as Trump supporters’ favorite Democrat. An Iraq war vet, she frequently appears on Fox News and has challenged the orthodoxy of both parties on foreign policy.
On Wednesday, she complained to Fox News about a lack of transparency in the criteria for Democratic primary debates and said the party is run by “a small group of really powerful political elites.”
Speculation of a third-party run had been driven by Gabbard’s unusually harsh criticism of some of her rivals as unqualified — as opposed to the party line that anyone is more qualified than Trump.
“I think one of the things I’m most concerned with is Kamala Harris is not qualified to serve as commander-in-chief, and I can say this from a personal perspective as a soldier,” Gabbard told Fox Sports Radio last month.
Harris Offers Plan for People With Disabilities (6:00 a.m.)
Kamala Harris vows to increase grants and strengthen rules aimed at bolstering opportunity for people with disabilities if she’s elected president in 2020.
Her campaign said that a Harris proposal released Thursday would enhance Department of Education programs aimed at helping disabled people get jobs. It would also use the powers of the departments of Transportation and Housing and Urban Development to strengthen accessibility rules for new projects to qualify for funding.
The proposal says Harris, California’s junior senator, would “have diverse leaders with disabilities developing all the policies her administration champions.”
Her nine-point plan includes legislative proposals to increase wages of disabled workers and resources for teachers of students with disabilities. It also calls for the U.S. to ratify the United Nations’ Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. — Sahil Kapur
