Who is Tulsi Gabbard?

Tulsi Gabbard, a former Democratic presidential nomination, announced her departure from the party on Tuesday.

Who is Tulsi Gabbard?

Tulsi Gabbard is an American politician, United States Army Reserve officer, and political commentator who served as the United States Representative for Hawaii’s 2nd congressional district from 2013 to 2021.

Also Read| Tulsi Gabbard leaves Democratic Party, calls it ‘elitist cabal of warmongers driven by cowardly wokeness’

Gabbard was the first Hindu member of Congress, as well as the first Samoan-American voting member of Congress. She ran for the Democratic nomination in the 2020 United States presidential election. She is 41 years old.

Gabbard was born on April 12, 1981, in Leloaloa, on the main island of Tutuila, American Samoa to Carol Gabbard and her husband, Mike Gabbard. She was their fourth child. Gabbard’s family relocated to Hawaii, where they have lived since the late 1970s when she was two years old in 1983.

Gabbard incorporated Hinduism in her life as a teen. Tulasi, which means “holy basil” in Sanskrit, is considered by Hindus to be an earthly manifestation of the goddess Tulasi. Her siblings have names derived from Hindu Sanskrit as well.

Also Read| Tulsi Gabbard age, family and net worth

At the age of 21, Gabbard won a seat in the Hawaii House of Representatives in 2002. In Iraq from 2004 to 2005, Gabbard worked in a field medical unit of the Hawaii Army National Guard. From 2008 to 2009, she was stationed in Kuwait as an Army Military Police battalion leader. She resigned from her position as vice chair of the Democratic National Committee (DNC) in order to support Bernie Sanders‘ bid for the 2016 Democratic presidential nomination while still a member of Congress from 2013 to 2016.

She frequently appeared on Fox News while she was a member of Congress to lambast the Barack Obama administration for “refusing” to identify “radical Islam” or “Islamic extremism” as the “true adversary” of the United States.

Also Read| Texas contenders Greg Abbott, Beto O’Rourke on abortion ahead of 2022 midterms

She generated controversy with her choice to meet with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and her denial of the use of chemical weapons.

Gabbard ended her presidential campaign in March 2020 to support Joe Biden, and on January 3, 2021, Kai Kahele took Gabbard’s place in the House of Representatives.

Gabbard has adopted conservative stances on culture war issues like abortion and transgender rights since she ended her presidential campaign.

Gabbard spoke at the Conservative Political Action Conference in 2022 and backed Florida’s contentious Parental Rights in Education Act (CPAC). 

Also Read| TikTok to verify political accounts ahead of US midterm elections

Gabbard practises Gaudiya Vaishnavism and is a vegan. She identifies as a “karma yogi.” 

She wed Eduardo Tamayo in 2002. They were divorced in 2006. In a conventional Vedic wedding ceremony in 2015, Gabbard wed freelance cinematographer and editor Abraham Williams.