Tulsi Gabbard pitches a new role for herself: Trump’s defense secretary

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Andrew Feinberg

White House Correspondent

Former House Democrat Tulsi Gabbard appears to have thrown herself into consideration for secretary of state or defense secretary in a potential Donald Trump administration.

Gabbard, who has reportedly met with the Trump campaign in recent months, was asked on the Wisconsin-based radio show The Regular Joe Show on Thursday whether there was “one thing” she could do that “would be serving the country in the best way possible” if Trump is elected president.

“I think there are a few different ways I could serve, as secretary of state, secretary of defense. There are a few different ways I believe I could best serve our country,” she said.

“Ultimately, we’ve got to save our country and win this election. I look forward to finding the best way that I can do that,” she added.

Gabbard endorsed Joe Biden after she dropped out of the Democratic primary race in 2020, and then left the Democratic Party in 2022.

Within eight years, Gabbard has moved from being an ally for Bernie Sanders’ 2016 presidential campaign to a Democratic presidential candidate to a right-wing influencer who has filled in as a host on Tucker Carlson’s former Fox News show, making appearances at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago compound.

After leaving Congress and the Democratic Party, Gabbard has been a frequent guest on right-wing media platforms and at the Conservative Political Action Conference, sandwiched between speeches from far-right personalities and elected officials.

She has repeatedly expressed her interest in serving as Trump’s vice president in several interviews, including on Donald Trump Jr.’s podcast. Last week, while promoting her book For Love of Country: Leave the Democrat Party Behind, Gabbard told supporters in California that she would be “honored” to be named Trump’s running mate.

Gabbard, an independent, hasn’t ruled out formally joining the Republican Party. “I never say never,” she told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel this week while traveling across Wisconsin to promote her book.

“We need leaders, whether you’re a Democrat or Republican or independent, whatever the label, political label that is attached to you, to put the interests of our country and the American people first and foremost,” she said.