Tulsi Gabbard rejects Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s running mate offer

Tulsi Gabbard, the first Indian-American congresswoman and 2020 Democratic presidential candidate, has revealed that she turned down an offer to become Robert F Kennedy Jr’s independent presidential running mate. Tulsi Gabbard leaves the Democratic Party in 2022.

ABC News quoted Gabbard as saying: “I had met with Kennedy several times and we had become good friends. He asked me if I would be his running mate. After careful consideration, I respectfully declined.”

Gabbard did not explain why she declined the offer. This information has not previously been disclosed.

Kennedy considered several candidates for the role, including former Minnesota Governor Jesse Ventura and television host Mike Rowe.

Kennedy announced at a rally in Oakland, Calif., last week He chooses Silicon Valley lawyer Nicole Shanahan as his running mate Because she is young and works in health and artificial intelligence.

A person close to Kennedy told ABC News: “There were definitely meetings, but it didn’t work out. We talked to a lot of people. Tulsi is a rock star no matter what.”

Tulsi Gabbard’s name also appears among exes President Donald Trump searches for potential vice presidential picks.

Gabbard, a former Hawaii congressman, ran unsuccessfully for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2019 and left the party three years later.

Tulsi Gabbard has written a book called “For Patriotism: Leaving the Democratic Party Behind,” which will be released this month.

Gabbard criticized Democrats when announcing her departure, accusing “warmongers” in the party who are “driven by a cowardly awakening to divide us by racializing every issue.”

She has also clashed with the party’s mainstream on issues such as Florida’s controversial ban on LGBTQ+ topics in public school classrooms, which she supported.

During her 2019 White House campaign, Gabbard made history as the first woman of color to earn a delegate to the Democratic National Convention since 1972.

Kennedy and his campaign have yet to respond to Gabbard’s statement, ABC News reported.