Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard (D-HI), who infamously blasted Senator Kamala Harris (D-CA) on the 2020 primary debate stage last summer and went on to outlast her campaign by months and earn two delegates in the process, says she was not invited to attend the Democratic virtual convention this year.
Gabbard revealed the apparent snub on Thursday evening when responding to a Twitter user who claimed it was tradition for candidates who earn delegates during the Democratic primary to speak at the convention. The congresswoman responded to the Twitter user: “You’re correct – I was not invited to participate in any way.”
You’re correct – I was not invited to participate in any way. https://t.co/zQBOQB8Zw7
— Tulsi Gabbard (@TulsiGabbard) August 20, 2020
Other candidates who did earn delegates, such as former New York City Michael Bloomberg and Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), were included at the convention. Even former Congressman Beto O’Rourke, who dropped out months before the first primary, was included in a Thursday evening round-table discussion with other former candidates, including businessman Andrew Yang and Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ) — neither of whom won any national delegates either.
Gabbard told CNN reporter Jake Tapper that she didn’t know why she was excluded from the convention line-up, but was currently en route to Alaska for an Army Reserve mission — which suggests she may not have agreed to speak live, or perhaps would have opted for a pre-recorded message instead of speaking live.
Rep @TulsiGabbard tells me she was not invited to participate in the convention in any way, she was not told why. She’s currently on a plane headed to Alaska, on her way to an Army Reserve mission to help out a small Alaska Native tribe with some critical infrastructure issues.
— Jake Tapper (@jaketapper) August 21, 2020
Gabbard has long been critical of the Democratic National Committee (DNC), both directly and indirectly through her actions. Back in 2016, she resigned as vice chairwoman of the DNC to endorse Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) in the 2016 primary. After the Democratic Party’s Iowa Caucus debacle in 2020, Gabbard called on DNC Chairman Tom Perez to resign during an interview with WMUR-TV, also citing the “growing skepticism” among voters in the party concerned about the fairness of the primary.
Gabbard later dropped out, the last person in the Democratic primary race other than Sanders, and endorsed Biden, saying that “although I may not agree with the vice president on every issue, I know that he has a good heart, and he’s motivated by his love for our country and the American people,” reports Politico.
Despite her criticism of the status quo in the Democratic Party, the Hawaii congresswoman said she was “confident” the former vice president “will lead our country guided by the spirit of aloha, respect and compassion, and thus help heal the divisiveness that has been tearing our country apart,” reports the news agency.