Why Trump Should Offer Tulsi Gabbard a Senior Role in His Administration

Anyone who’s been reading me for more than a couple of days understands that I have serious reservations about Donald Trump. My concerns stem primarily from his authoritarian tendencies, as well as his stated disregard for civil liberties. Nevertheless, as I outlined in my post-election piece, Americans Roll the Dice With President Donald Trump, I very much want Trump to succeed, because this country needs him to succeed. Tens of millions of our fellow citizens are suffering under the weight of undue financial burdens, largely the result of an economy completely controlled by unethical and ruthless oligarchs thanks to their bought and paid for political stooges. This unholy union needs to be shattered before this country can be “made great again.”

Will Trump actually do what needs to be done? I have my doubts, but doubt isn’t going to lead to positive change. In these early months before Trump picks all of his personnel, it is imperative that we signal to him what would be acceptable behavior, and what would be considered unforgivable betrayal.

As such, from the very beginning I have advocated that Trump work closely with those forces in the opposition who actually want to make economic existence once again bearable for countless struggling Americans. Trump should ignore corporatist frauds irrespective of their political leanings (red/blue sports team colors), and unite the public along productive populist policy lines as opposed to blind, counterproductive partisan loyalties.

In this respect, I was very pleased to hear that Trump recently met with Democratic Rep. from Hawaii, Tulsi Gabbard. If you aren’t familiar with her, you need to get up to speed fast. I highlighted her courageous stance during the Democratic primary in February’s post, It’s Not Just the GOP – The Democratic Party is Also Imploding. Here’s what happened and what I thought it represented:

A rising star within the Democratic ranks, Rep. Tulsi Gabbard of Hawaii, cut herself off from the party’s establishment by resigning from her post as vice-chairman of the Democratic National Committee and endorsing Bernie Sanders for president. 

Her position with the DNC required her to stay neutral in the primaries, but she said that “the stakes are too high.” She announced her decision on Sunday on NBC’s “Meet the Press,” and made a video where she explained her reasoning.

Gabbard, an Iraq war veteran, said she knows the cost of war firsthand. “I know how important it is that our commander-in-chief has the sound judgment required to know when to use America’s military power—and when not to use that power.”

The importance of this move cannot be understated. In no uncertain terms, this gesture publicly exposes the weakness of the “Clinton brand.” She clearly isn’t afraid of Hillary or of any repercussions from the Democratic Party elite, a fact that is underscored by the fact she came out with her endorsement after he got pummeled in South Carolina.

But let’s take a step back and think about this in the even bigger picture. You don’t get to Congress by being a political imbecile. On the surface, this move looks like career suicide, particularly since Hillary is probably about to clinch the nomination. Recall, Rep. Gabbard didn’t merely endorse Sanders after a bruising loss in South Carolina, she stepped down from her official position with the DNC to do so. This isn’t merely a statement, it’s the equivalent of dropping a neutron bomb on the Democratic establishment. So why did she do it?

While I think she genuinely agrees with Sanders on key issues, the reason she came out so aggressively is because she sees the writing on the wall. She’s playing the long game, and in the long game, Hillary Clinton represents a discredited and failed status quo, while Bernie Sanders represents a push toward the paradigm level change that will define the future.

Gabbard is not only brave, she’s politically astute and her primary stance will now pay tremendous dividends to her overall credibility moving forward. As such, Trump’s decision to meet with her the other day was a very positive move.

The Hill reports:

Donald Trump’s chief strategist Steve Bannon contacted Tulsi Gabbard to arrange Monday’s meeting with the president-elect, according to a source close to Bannon.

“He reached out to her, not vice versa,” the source told The Hill on Monday.

Many in the media raised their eyebrows when the news broke that Trump was meeting at Trump Tower Monday morning with Hawaii’s Democratic congresswoman.

But for those who know Bannon best, there was no surprise at all.

Bannon, who hates the entrenched two-party system, has long admired Gabbard. She’s an Iraq War veteran with an independent streak. Bannon, a navy veteran, was drawn to her when she began publicly excoriating the Obama administration over its plan to defeat ISIS.

“He loves Tulsi Gabbard. Loves her,” a second source familiar with Bannon’s thinking told The Hill. “Wants to work with her on everything.”

Gabbard meshes with Trump’s foreign policy views in that she vehemently opposes U.S.-led regime change. She argues the U.S. government has no business removing from power the brutal Syrian dictator Bashar Assad.

In the statement she released following her meeting with Trump, Gabbard said she “felt it important to take the opportunity to meet with the President-elect now before the drumbeats of war that neocons have been beating drag us into an escalation of the war to overthrow the Syrian government.”

A Trump transition source told The Hill on Monday that Gabbard could potentially fill “a number of positions” inside the incoming administration. CNN and the New York Times have reported that she’s under consideration for United Nations ambassador. CNN also reported that she’s under consideration for State and Defense.

“Let me be clear,” Gabbard said in her statement, “I will never allow partisanship to undermine our national security when the lives of countless people lay in the balance.”

Not only is the possibility of Trump and Gabbard working together good for the nation, it offers further proof that Steve Bannon is a strategic genius. I would happily support Gabbard in a senior role within the Trump administration.

In Liberty,
Michael Krieger

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