Trump campaigns alongside Gabbard in Wisconsin
Former President Trump on Thursday was joined by Tulsi Gabbard (Hawaii) for a town hall event in Wisconsin, previewing how the Trump campaign plans to utilize the former Democratic congresswoman on the trail in the coming weeks.
Gabbard, who endorsed Trump earlier in the week, moderated a town hall event in La Crosse, where she guided the conversation and at times sought to keep the conversation focused on key issues like immigration, inflation and foreign policy.
The former congresswoman opened by sharing her own story of dealing with fertility struggles, teeing Trump up to discuss his brand new proposal for the government to cover the cost of in vitro fertilization (IVF) treatments.
Gabbard ran an unsuccessful presidential campaign in the Democratic primary in 2020. She announced in 2022 she was leaving the party and has become a regular presence in conservative media, making her endorsement of Trump largely unsurprising.
The Trump campaign has said it expects Gabbard, as well as Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who suspended his independent White House bid and backed Trump, to appear on the trail in support of the former president in the coming weeks.
Trump only appeared on stage for roughly 30 minutes and fielded questions on immigration, inflation, crime and preventing terrorist attacks. The former president at one point told the audience he was unaware he was doing a town hall event until aides informed him of the format while flying into Wisconsin.
He hit on familiar talking points, claiming the country was being overrun by illegal immigrants, downplaying the threat of climate change and blasting Vice President Harris as a “Marxist” who has flip-flopped on issues.
“She’s changed on every single one of them. In fact…perhaps we should give Kamala a ‘Make America Great Again’ hat,” Trump said. “But the problem is, that’s not her belief. Her belief is open borders. Her belief is getting rid of Social Security. Her belief is doing all of these plans like for health insurance where you have one big government-run mess.”
Harris has not called for getting rid of Social Security. She has said she supports a bipartisan border security deal that would increase funding for border patrol, and she has distanced herself from her past support for Medicare for All.
Trump's event took place shortly before Harris's first major interview since becoming the Democratic nominee was set to air on CNN. The former president mocked the setup of the interview during his remarks in Wisconsin, telling the crowd Harris "didn’t look like a leader to me."
Wisconsin is set to be a closely contested battleground in November. A Decision Desk HQ/The Hill average of polls from the state show Harris leading Trump by 3 percentage points.
Date: | |
Tag: | Donald Trump |
-
Politico - Politics
House Dem campaign arm is touting its post-Biden ground game
September 3 - Joe Biden -
Politico - Politics
Democrats press oil executives on Trump's $1B ask
5 days ago - Donald Trump -
CBS News - Politics
Harris and Trump both push for Child Tax Credit hike
Government figures show it now costs more than $300,000 to raise a child from birth to age 18. Since 1997, the federal child tax credit has been helping parents save a little bit of that money. ...Yesterday - Donald Trump -
NBC News - Top stories
Trump plans to visit Springfield, Ohio, the site of his baseless claims about Haitian immigrants
Former President Donald Trump is planning to visit Springfield, Ohio, "soon," a source familiar with the planning told NBC News.18 minutes ago - Donald Trump
More from The Hill
-
The Hill - Politics
Harris campaign mocks Trump after his 'I hate Taylor Swift' post
Vice President Harris’s campaign mocked former President Trump in a release Sunday after he expressed his dislike for pop superstar Taylor Swift on Truth Social. “We're pretty sure it's Safe (& ...37 minutes ago - Donald Trump -
The Hill - Politics
TikTok ban effort to be tested before federal appeals court
Bipartisan efforts to ban TikTok nationwide will be scrutinized Monday by a federal appeals court tasked with weighing whether axing the social media giant’s U.S. presence runs afoul of the First ...41 minutes ago - Tiktok -
The Hill - Politics
What the ‘Willful Blindness’ report misses about Afghanistan’s tragedy
The hard truth is, no matter how it was spun, Afghanistan was lost well before the planes left the runway at Bagram Airfield.41 minutes ago -
The Hill - Politics
Map: Over 20 states have chance at seeing northern lights after solar flare
An intense solar flare could spark aurora chances across nearly half of the country late Sunday night -- here's what to know.1 hour ago -
The Hill - Politics
Shapiro on Harris’ chances in Pennsylvania: 'Every election is close’
Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro (D) said Sunday that "every election is close in" his home state when asked about Vice President Harris' chances of winning. “How likely is it at this point that ...1 hour ago