Trump’s counting on Tulsi Gabbard for Harris debate prep—he shouldn’t

Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump is depending on former Rep. Tulsi Gabbard to prepare him for Tuesday’s debate with Democratic nominee Kamala Harris. 

Beyond depending on Gabbard to serve as a stand-in for Harris during faux debates, Trump’s team appears to be leaning heavily into the onetime Democrat’s ideas about how he should attack Harris. Those ideas are focused on the notion that Trump can benefit from painting Harris as a hypocrite whose positions have changed over time.

It’s safe to say that Gabbard is an expert on hypocrisy. As she made the transition from staunch Democrat to MAGA favorite, she changed her position on just about every aspect of foreign policy, economics, abortion, and LGBTQ+ rights. Even before officially switching parties in 2022, she had become a leading mouthpiece in attacks on transgender Americans.

Gabbard’s supposed expertise on Harris goes back to one moment during a 2019 Democratic presidential debate where she thrilled the right with an attack on then-candidate Harris. But if Trump is expecting to duplicate that moment, he’d better think again.