POLITICS

Tulsi Gabbard leaves Democratic Party, denounces it as 'elitist cabal'

October 11th, 2022

Former Democratic presidential candidate Tulsi Gabbard announced she left the Democratic Party on Tuesday, denouncing the organization as an "elitist cabal."

Gabbard, who retired from the House of Representatives in 2021, attacked the institution in a nearly 30-minute video posted to her YouTube account. She did not announce plans to join the Republican Party or adopt any other political affiliation, however.

"I can no longer remain in today’s Democratic Party that is now under the complete control of an elitist cabal of warmongers driven by cowardly wokeness, who divide us by racializing every issue & stoke anti-white racism," Gabbard said in an excerpt posted to Twitter.

She went on to call on other moderate Democrats to follow in her footsteps.

"I believe in a government that is of the people, by the people and for the people. Unfortunately, today's Democratic Party does not. Instead, it stands for a government that is of, by and for the powerful elite," she continued. "I'm calling on my fellow common sense, independent-minded Democrats to join me in leaving the Democratic Party."

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Gabbard's announcement served as the inaugural episode of "The Tusli Gabbard Show," a podcast she is now running.

Gabbard has grown increasingly estranged from the Democratic establishment since her failed candidacy in the 2020 presidential primary. She has also become a vocal critic of President Biden, denouncing him for "pouring fuel on the flames" of division in the country.

Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich praised Tulsi for ditching the Democrats in a Tuesday statement on Fox News. He argued that she is one of many Americans who traditionally have voted blue but now find the Democrats unrecognizable.

[Gabbard] has always been sort of an independent maverick," Gingrich said. "And I think when she ran for president, she realized how really isolated she was from the great majority of the Democratic Party, which is now, frankly, a pretty weird party….I think you're seeing this drift. And we've certainly seen among Latinos a huge drift towards the Republican Party as they're driven away by the weirder policies of the Democratic Party."

Curated By

Maya Gupta
Investigative Journalist | Grassroots Movement Organizer | Economy Consultant/Speaker
Maya Gupta writes from the fault lines of a world that refuses to stay quiet. Focused on the collisions between culture, power, and accountability, her work cuts past polished narratives to expose what’s really moving beneath the surface. From the rise of creator-driven influence to athlete activism and grassroots resistance, she tracks the momentum shaping a generation unwilling to wait its turn. Her reporting doesn’t cater to comfort, it confronts it, challenging institutions that lean on legacy instead of legitimacy. With a voice rooted in urgency and a lens tuned to those often ignored, Maya delivers coverage that reflects the stakes as they are, not as they’re packaged. This is journalism that doesn’t just observe change, it stands in the middle of it, documenting the push, the backlash, and the undeniable shift underway.

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