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Former Democrats Kennedy and Tulsi Gabbard named to Trump transition team

Aug 27, 2024, 12:17pm EDT
politics
RFK Jr.
REUTERS/Kevin Wurm
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The News

Donald Trump named former independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and one-time Democratic congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard to join his transition team as honorary co-chairs and assist the Republican nominee should he be reelected in November.

“As President Trump’s broad coalition of supporters and endorsers expands across partisan lines, we are proud that Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Tulsi Gabbard have been added to the Trump/Vance transition team,” said a Trump spokesperson.

The appointments would give the pair a role in overseeing the staff of a possible second Trump administration, as well as potentially helping to shape policy.

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Kennedy, who suspended his own presidential campaign Friday and endorsed Trump, told former Fox News host Tucker Carlson that he would “help pick the people who will be running the government.”

The development marks significant U-turns in the political careers of both Gabbard and Kennedy, who spent most of their public lives pushing progressive policies. Just months ago, Trump described Kennedy as a “Radical Left Lunatic.”

Gabbard ran in the 2020 Democratic primaries before dropping out and endorsing President Joe Biden. But she later became an independent and began voicing more conservative opinions on social issues, informally helping the Trump team with debate preparation, according to The New York Times.

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