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Tulsi Gabbard: I’m LEAVING the Democratic Party. Here’s why.

Former U.S. Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard is making waves with her recent exit from the Democratic Party. Gabbard, who ran for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination, said in a recent Twitter video that she can ‘no longer stomach’ America’s current direction thanks to ‘woke Democratic Party ideologues.’ Gabbard joins Glenn, explaining her decision further. She says today’s Democrat leaders do NOT believe in freedom or the ‘God-given rights that are enshrined in our Constitution.’ So, does that mean Gabbard won't vote for ANY Democrat this upcoming election season? Listen to find out…

Transcript

Below is a rush transcript that may contain errors

GLENN: Tulsi Gabbard joins us now.

Hi, Tulsi, how are you?

TULSI: Hey, Glenn, good morning. I'm good. How are you today?

GLENN: Good. First of all, let me introduce, host of the Tulsi Gabbard Show. And you can do find out more about her at Tulsi.substack.com.

So, Tulsi, why leave the Democrats, and why now?

TULSI: Glenn, you know, you and I have had a lot of great conversations. And so many of those conversations, often I find have been censored around freedom. As you mentioned. The Bill of Rights.

These fundamental principles our country was founded on. The things that are most important, that really bind us all together as Americans. And when it comes right down to it, today's Democratic party does not believe in freedom. They don't believe in freedom.

And because they don't believe in freedom, and because they are, you know, the party is led by fanatical ideologues, they are actively trying to undermine those God-given rights that are enshrined in our Constitution. They're actively seeking to undermine our freedom of speech. They want to control what we say and what we think. They are attacking our religious liberty. They cannot handle it, when people dare to speak out. Or even question, question the things they're trying to employees on us as a society, and the way they foment fear. You see this cancel woke culture. They try to silence anyone who dares to disagree, or anyone who dares to expose the insecurity -- their insecurity, and the weakness in their arguments and narratives. And for a whole host of reasons, and you can go and read my statement on Substack, or listen to -- you know, I spoke about this in detail. On the Tulsi Gabbard Show. But it really all comes down to freedom. And I can no longer be associated with today's Democratic Party, that is so actively anti-freedom.

GLENN: Tulsi, you know you and I have talked many times, and I really respect you. But I have to ask a couple of questions. And I want you to know, these are honest questions. I'm not trying to do anything, but really understand. A couple of things.

First of all, address the cynics that would say, you're only doing this now because you want the publicity for your podcast. Or, you know, Substack.

TULSI: I'm laughing a little bit as you're asking that, Glenn. Because every time I've made a decision, that got some attention, but was maybe politically not expedient or the popular thing to do, that was very often the response.

Like, oh, you're just doing this to get -- that's never made sense. That's never been the motivation that I've had.

GLENN: I know. I know.

TULSI: I've done my best, and continue to do my best, to continue to make decisions, whether it be about policy or other things based on what's right.

GLENN: Okay.

TULSI: And this was not a decision, that I made lightly or quickly. But it's one that I knew had to be done.

GLENN: Okay. This is the part that I am really interested in. Because I think there are people that are leaving the parties. Both parties. Because they think they're both about bullcrap.

There are people like Bill Maher, that are really speaking out against this Democratic mob.

And he -- people will say, I think he's turning conservative. No, he's not.

He's a classical liberal. He's a guy who believes in freedom, et cetera, et cetera.

He just believes in more taxes and government, and everything else.

So he's just being the kind of American, that loves the country. And agrees with the Bill of Rights. And the kind of American that doesn't want to fight his neighbor. Can live side by side.

I want to ask you, because you -- I mean, you endorsed Bernie Sanders in 2016. Endorsed Keith Ellison. You are somebody that has -- you're way dune the rabbit hole to the left on your policies.

Have you changed your mind on those? Are you more like Bill Maher? What's happening?

JOHN: Well, first, I wanted to go back to what you mentioned, about being a classic liberal. And I think a lot of people have forgotten, or don't know what that actually means. If you look at classic liberalism. And this is something that you talked about.

Classic liberalism is about respecting individual freedom. And individual rights.

It's about really living up to that ideal of a government of, by, and for the people. It's about civil liberties and freedom. And my gosh, today's Democratic Party is -- is clearly so far off from the classic liberals of greats of our past.

You know, I -- I've never put myself, as you know, in a box. I've never cleanly fit into the so-called progressive box. Even as a Democrat. I've always been an independent Democrat. So there are things that I probably agree with their folks on. Or disagree with other folks on. But ultimately, what it comes down to is the Democratic party of today has literally gone insane.

And the foundation of freedom, has finally been lost. It's something they're actively attacking, which -- which makes it impossible to even have a conversation. About many of the other things, that affect us in our everyday lives. We can't stand on this common foundation and principle of freedom, and -- and recognizing our God-given rights enshrined in the Constitution, then there's -- there's not a whole lot of room to talk.

GLENN: So tell me what you think happened to the Democratic Party. As I see it. They gave -- they gave into the Marxists. But they're not really giving into the Marxists. That's a -- I don't know. That was a faint or something. I'm not sure what it was.

But it was the useful idiots. And really, what they've done, is they've become this corporatist, globalist monster.

What happened, do you think?

TULSI: You know, I can't tell you specifically, what the cause is. But what I have experienced, and what I've seen, is, you know, going back 20 years ago, when I first ran for statehouse here in Hawaii, and I looked at, okay. Well, which party do I want to affiliate with, at that time?

When I looked, and Hawaii's past especially, I saw the Democratic Party, big tent, inclusive party, respecting people who hold different views on different issues. But really rooted in the foundations of justice and fairness and freedom and being a champion for the little guy, for the working class Americans.

And that party is not recognizable today. It is a -- it is a party of the elites, by the elite and for the elite.

It is a party of warmongers, who are firmly in the grips of the military industrial complex.

It is a party that has left the people behind. And it's been taken over by these fanatical ideologues, who are blinded by their ambition and desire for power.

You know, I've been through this, over the years, and I've seen how, not only do they try to destroy people, who disagree with them. Even if you just don't say anything about whatever their cause at the moment is. Because it changes. Then their response is, well, you are complicit. If you are silent, you are complicit. You're part of the problem.

Then if you say, well, okay. Fine, I agree with that. It's not enough. Unless you get out there with your megaphone and stand on the street corner. And scream loudly and march in the protest. And proclaim your allegiance to whatever their cause of the moment is.

Then it's not enough. They're not convinced. The goalposts keep changing. They don't believe in truth. And when people don't believe in truth. And there are no boundaries to what they are propagating in our society. Which, frankly, poses a great danger and risk.

GLENN: So I'm taking -- and maybe I have this wrong. But I'm taking it that you -- you haven't become a conservative. But you still agree with some of the socialist, big government things that you supported in the past. So if that's true, who are you going to vote for?

I mean, how are you -- there's an election coming up. You don't have to have names. But do you vote for the party, even if the person is good?

TULSI: No. The answer is no.

I -- I have always been of the mindset that we should not be voting, based on party lines. We should be voting based on the character and values of a candidate. And their commitment to the Constitution.

You know, there are -- there are different issues. Or positions, that, you know, through my experience, I've seen, okay. Wow. Okay.

Well, I didn't know that. And I didn't understand that. And I think it's important to always be willing to self-examine and say, okay. Was I right on that, or not? Or is there a better approach to tackle the problems that we face?

You know, I was confounded when I was vice chair of the Democratic national party for a few years in Washington. Every time we would go to events during an election year. And you hear the mantra, vote blue, no matter who. And it never made any sense to me.

It never made any sense. Because I know a lot of people who probably should not have ever been running for office. But we're standing on a stage. Getting people support and votes, as people stood next to them saying, vote blue, no matter who. The who matters. Character matters. Your values matter. Your commitment. And who you are loyal to, matters the most.

The fact that we have gotten to a place and a country, where we have so many leaders in Washington, who took that oath, that every one of us takes. When you take public office. That oath to support and defend the Constitution. But they've thrown the Constitution in the trash. Or they're openly, you know, stomping their feet on it. In defiance of that oath, that they took.

This is where if you look at, start questioning, why are people doing these things? Why are they taking the position that they are taking?

Why don't they believe in the rule of law? How can they oppose free speech?

It's because they don't believe in the Constitution. And without that, they're floundering. And there is no foundation to stand on.

GLENN: Talking to Tulsi Gabbard.

And I think it is really important. I like Tulsi. I don't know if you would consider me a friend. But I would consider you a friend, Tulsi.

TULSI: I do. I do, Glenn.

GLENN: And while we, I'm sure, disagree on a lot of really big things, it is really important when somebody recognizes and says, oh, that's poison. That even though they're not on your team, per se, that you recognize, that's a huge, huge step, and important.

Because we have to get back to being a country, where we can live side by side. And disagree with each other. But still like each other.
And respect one another.

So Tulsi, good job. Thank you so much.

TULSI: Exactly. Thank you. Great to talk to you, Glenn. Have a great day.

GLENN: You too. Tulsi.substack.com. And you can find out more. Follow her on Tulsi Gabbard. @TulsiGabbard. Or TulsiGabbard.com.

TV

SNEAK PEAK: Glenn Gives a Tour of the Roosevelt Room in the White House

Ahead of his First 100 Days interview with President Trump, Glenn gives an exclusive tour of the Roosevelt Room: Theodore Roosevelt’s Nobel Peace Prize and Medal of Honor, Barack Obama’s private papers, and the legendary doorknobs that Trump installed in the White House.

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EXCLUSIVE: Trump Tells the INCREDIBLE Story of Elon Musk, Nikola Tesla, and His Uncle

Immediately after his First 100 Days interview with President Trump, Glenn knew he had to ask one more question, even if it was off the record: How incredible is it that Trump is working with today’s Nikola Tesla, Elon Musk, when Trump's uncle was the man put in charge of sifting through Tesla’s files when he died?! But instead of having a private conversation, Trump decided to let Glenn’s audience hear the story too …

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EXCLUSIVE: President Trump on 'Judicial Insurrection,' Tariffs, and 100 Days in Office | Ep 429

In just his first 100 days in office, President Trump has moved faster to fix America than anyone expected. He created the DOGE, shut the border down, dismantled USAID and its wasteful spending, and put the world on notice that it can’t take advantage of America any more. But there’s still much more to do, and Americans have questions about what’s next. Glenn sits down with the president in the Roosevelt Room of the White House for his first one-on-one interview about his first 100 days. Glenn asks Trump what the real goal of his tariffs is, whether Elon Musk is really stepping back from the DOGE, whether Mexico is a failed narco-state, what his plans are for the cartels, and how he may react to the “judicial insurrection” of judges blocking his deportation orders. Trump also reveals his game-changing plans for AI and American energy, why he’s not “negotiating” with Europe or the world, whether Putin or Zelenskyy has been easier to deal with, and why he believes Glenn will “be surprised” by congressional Republicans soon.

►BONUS CONTENT: See my exclusive tour of the Roosevelt Room and don’t miss President Trump’s extended interview, where he shares how his uncle—once the government’s go-to expert on Nikola Tesla’s files—is now connected to today’s Tesla, Elon Musk. These are must-see moments you won’t find anywhere else. Watch now at BlazeTV.com/Glenn.

RADIO

How Trump Could REVOLUTIONIZE American Energy

With the AI race in full swing, America must face one of its biggest obstacles if we're going to beat adversaries like China: our current power grid, which hasn't been updated since FDR, is not sustainable. We need 99% power by 2027. We're at 3%. Of all energy usage, in the next three years, an additional 29 gigawatts will be needed by 2027, and 67 more gigawatts will be required by 2030. Glenn argues that this can only be done by building nuclear power plants. China is already ahead of us in power plant production, so we need to get the ball rolling: "This is something that Donald Trump could do. And it is time!

Transcript

Below is a rush transcript that may contain errors

GLENN: Tonight is an epic interview with the president at the White House. So don't -- don't miss it. I'm going to do that interview, later this afternoon. It will air 9:00 p.m. Eastern time. It will be unedited. And you will be able to see them.

Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. It's not like you're dealing with Joe Biden anymore.

No. Yeah. Because -- let's see what he says.

You know, I have a lot of things to talk about. Like one thing, that I would like to see, you know, that I don't -- I don't see anybody talking about.

You know, the president is changing the economy. He is changing -- he is getting away from this World War II nightmare.

That, you know, might have been right for 1948. But it's certainly not right for today. Where we were taking care of Europe. We were giving them all kinds of special breaks. We were paying for their defense. Yada, yada, yada.

Instead, now Americans take care of herself. And we all need to be self-sufficient. Well, you know, we're talking about AI a lot. But what people are not talking about is something that Eric Schmitt came to the White House -- sorry, to Capitol Hill and testified a couple of days ago, about the power usage. We have a significant problem with power. Now, I want you to understand.

Everyone will tell you, we cannot you lose the race for AI. Have you heard anyone say anything other than that? Stu.

STU: No. Anyone who talks about it. says, we can't just let China or someone else win it.

GLENN: It's 100 percent universal, we must, must win. Okay?

So where are we going to get all the power?

Here's what Eric said. Many people project demand for our industry go from 3 percent.

3 percent of total energy production. Right now.

We're at 3 percent.

For all of our server farms and everything else.

For Silicon Valley. Uses 3 percent.

He says, it's going to go from 3 percent to 99 percent!

Of all energy usage, in the next three years, an additional 29 gigawatts by 2027 and 67 more gigawatts by 2030.

He's now saying that we have to build hundreds of nuclear power plants.

He said, there were some plants. They will require, most plants will require one nuclear power plant, per server farm!

Some of them may require up to three nuclear power plants per server farm!

So this is really good in one way: Because we will have the electricity that we need. Assuming we start to build these things quickly. I mean, what's going to happen, Stu. It takes 25 years, to build a nuclear power plant. How is it we're expected at all to compete?

We have dismantled our coal-fired plants all over the country. We are still not digging up coal and -- and fuel, as much as we need to.

We need to be open and open on absolutely everything.

That's something that Eric Schmitt said yesterday too. Remember, this is the Silicon Valley guy. I'm sure he was green, green, green for a long time.

Now he's saying, we need absolutely every source of energy. Because we will need 99 percent by 2027.

2027.

What do you think -- what do you think your power price is going to be?

What do you think about rolling blackouts or brownouts?

We have got to be. And this would create so many jobs.

So many jobs. Good-paying jobs. Going out and building all these nuclear power plants.

STU: Is this an opportunity.

GLENN: But will we do it?

STU: For Trump and the Trump administration?

GLENN: Huge. Huge. Huge.

STU: Because it feels like talking about positives, going on offense, rather than being on defense. There's been a lot of defense talk lately.

GLENN: Yes. Yes.

STU: And going on offense and saying, hey, we can be the best place for your company to exist. Because we will be the only place on earth that has the power it needs.

GLENN: Yeah. Yeah.

The only other country is doing it is China. And they're building it like crazy. This is something that we have -- Donald Trump could surpass FDR in power generation.

Remember, most people in 1919, Woodrow Wilson, I think 1 percent of the population had a refrigerator. By 1930, I think that number was like 80 percent. Had refrigeration.

When -- when FDR came in, the only places that didn't have stuff. Was there was no electricity in these small little rural towns. So he went. And he started building power plants and dams.

And everything else, to generate all the power. And then started laying power lines. This is something that Donald Trump could do. And it is time!

I mean, our grid hasn't really been updated since FDR.

We're still using the same stuff. And, you know -- and a lot of it is just so outdated. And so bad.

Our grid is so incredibly unstable. And not built for what's coming next.

And I just don't know how he's going to get it done. But this is a big win for him. Big win for him.

You know how many jobs would be created if we introduced and said, we have to build them, in the next three years?

We would be enormous!

Enormous!

And exciting!

STU: Yeah. Yeah. Exciting. I mean, look, having a power is the basis of civilization. Like, this is not a -- it's not a small little thing.

It really is one of the foundational elements you need for a modern civilization.

And we sit here. And we talk about all the things that we can't do.

All of the natural resources that we have. We can't utilize.

All the things that we need to stop.

Right? We need to stop making gas-powered cars.

We need to stop getting our own coal and using it.

We need to stop building nuclear plants. This is a way of saying, no. We're on offense.

We're America. You know, the left is trying to right now. They're in the middle of a rebrand.

And one of their -- as we talked about last hour. They're still seemingly stuck in a lot of these crazy woke stuff that burns them the last time. Hopefully, they stick with them forever.

One of the proposals being proposed bit left. It's this idea of abundance. That's the name of the book that kind of lays these concepts out.

And it's an idea of trying to take away what the right has always had. Which is this idea of saying, hey. We're looking to grow.

We want better things. We want the Americans to have a better, more fruitful. More wealthy.

More -- you know, having more. And we'll decide what we want to do, when we have more.

And the left was always saying, hey. No. We need to restrict. We need to calm that down. You don't need all this. You don't need the bigger house. You don't need the bigger car. And that's not the fundamental, number one thing you should care about. But it was always there for us to say, hey. All these shelves are stocked. Everything you need is right there. You make the decisions on what you want. You make the decisions on prioritize on what you will spend your money on. And what you will spend your time on. And the left is trying to take that back now. You're seeing an opportunity because of a lot of people on the right, who are saying, no. Actually, maybe we shouldn't have those things available. Maybe you don't need them. And I'm nervous. If they decide to go down this road, there is a real vulnerability to the conservative movement, if the left takes that away from us. And they want to.


GLENN: State it again, more succinctly. Your concern again?

STU: My concern is, and this is a real thing being talked about on the left. In sort of their higher level academic circles. Is the approach to say -- to take away, I don't know. It was a -- I would say, pretty consistent with that Reagan optimism. Right? The shining city on the hill.

GLENN: We can do it. We can do it.

STU: We can do it. We can accomplish all these incredible things. Not through government. Through you.

You can do it. We'll have all these things. And you should expect from your country, an abundance, not a scarcity.

GLENN: I'm trying to figure out, where are you seeing that on the left?

STU: There's a major best-seller that just came out, called abundance.

And it was from the left. It was from two guys on the left. And I don't know that they will win.

But, you know, Ezra Klein, Derek Thompson. They're pretty well-known.

GLENN: That's really hard. That's really hard to sell. Barack Obama -- I know. Look at Barack Obama. He has how many houses? Three. Where he's building a seawall around one of his houses, where you can't build a seawall in Hawaii. But he's building a seawall around one of them. That's his part-time house. His other part-time house is in Nantucket, one foot above sea level. One. Count them. One foot above sea level.

STU: Right.

GLENN: And he has a third house someplace else. I think it's here in Washington.

And he's always talking about, hey. You know, there comes a time where enough is enough.

And you have too much.

When is that, Barack?

Because you're telling us, you shouldn't have an SUV.

You have three houses!

See, this whole abundance thing has never been aimed at them!

It's always been aimed at us.

They believe in abundance.

STU: Sure.

GLENN: For the right people. The right people get it.

And that is the biggest difference in abundance, is they've been saying that we all have to pinch back, but they don't actually mean it. At least the Republicans are like, yeah, I'm corrupt as hell and making all kinds of money on the side. But you can't do.

You know what I mean? It's just crazy.

STU: Yeah. No. I agree. I think, look, they've never actually believed any of these things. What was their approach. Forever, we heard the approach of, hey.

Your TVs are too big. Your cars. They're too -- they have too much of what you need.

The SUVs are too large.

Your homes are too large. You don't need the air-conditioning. You should turn it to 72 degrees.

Now, I can bet you at neither Martha's Vineyard or in Hawaii. Barack Obama never had his house set to some uncomfortable temperature he didn't like.

GLENN: Well, he might have.

Because he's right on the ocean. You can get that lovely ocean breeze that most of us don't get.

STU: That's true. That's true.

It was always something they tried to implement on the people. We get what we want.

But you need to sacrifice, for the greater good. And that's -- that's a thing that just doesn't connect exactly, with the American people.

Not because they're not charitable. Because they are. They want to do good things for other people.

They will come together, and do incredible -- accomplish incredible things which they have done.

But it was always this idea that you would be able -- it was part of the American deal, right?

We do these things. We work hard. Maybe we work harder. Maybe we work more hours.

Maybe we put up with more crap. The idea that we can shape our own future. The left is trying to take that messaging back.

Now, I'm with you. In that, I'm not confident, that viewpoint will not win out on the left. Because there's a bunch of insane people.

But it is a vulnerability on the right if we go down this road of trying to encourage the same type of scarcity talk that the left has been engaging in.

GLENN: Okay. Okay.

So let's -- let's take that. Next hour, I want to tell you a story that fits right in here, on what the leftists are doing in San Francisco.

Because it's very similar to what you're talking about.

This morning, when I read it. I thought, that will never work.

But maybe you're right. Maybe it will.

I don't know. But it's insane.

We'll talk about that and so much more. Coming up.

Don't forget, President Trump, an interview tonight at 9:00 with President Trump and I.