U.S. Rep. Tulsi Gabbard talked about national security and criminal justice reform on the Des Moines Register Political Soapbox on Friday and criticized U.S. Sen. Kamala Harris on both fronts.

Gabbard, an active service member of the Hawaii National Guard, said it's not a prerequisite for the president to have a military background. But presidents need to be ready to take on the role of commander in chief, and she doesn't believe Harris is prepared.

"Specifically, she lacks that national security background, and that experience, I believe, is essential for someone to serve in that role," she told reporters following the Soapbox.

"I can say this from a personal perspective as a soldier," Gabbard told Fox Sports Radio in July. "She's got no background or experience in foreign policy, and she lacks the temperament that is necessary for a commander in chief."

► More:Watch Tulsi Gabbard’s full speech at the Register Political Soapbox at the Iowa State Fair

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Gabbard has made foreign policy, with an emphasis on national security, a focus of her campaign. At the Political Soapbox, she told the crowd the way to fund domestic policies, like making health care accessible and fighting climate change, is by ending the United States' foreign engagements.

Politicians on both sides of the aisle will continue to fund international conflicts instead of investing in projects in America, she said.

"I speak from a place of personal concern because I, like so many others in this country, have dealt with the consequences of a president who lacks that experience and qualification, falling under the influence of the foreign policy establishment and military-industrial complex," Gabbard said after her speech.

Jeanne Trachta, from Council Bluffs, watched Gabbard's speech. She supported Gabbard's anti-war stance.

“Let’s spend the money on us rather than all these pointless wars,” Trachta said.

Harris has lobbied critiques of Gabbard's foreign policy history back at the representative. After the July Democratic presidential debates, Harris called Gabbard an "apologist" of Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad. Gabbard met with Assad in 2017 on a trip to Syria.

On the Soapbox, Gabbard called for overhauling the criminal justice system, ending "marijuana prohibition" and pursuing pharmaceutical corporations, which she said contributed to the opioid crisis.

"We end up with devastation, people losing their lives, families being torn apart ... and then seeing people who are victims of this crisis being treated as criminals," she said. "This is wrong. This is a symptom of what happens when we have a government for the few rich and powerful instead of a government for the people."

Gabbard made sure to hit up some of the State Fair's attractions before and after her appearance on the Political Soapbox. She played a water gun game with three children on the concourse, winning stuffed animals for two of them.

She also stopped by the "Veggie Table," where she got a veggie corn dog and a deep-fried avocado. She and U.S. Sen. Cory Booker are the only two vegans in the Democratic presidential race, but she said she wasn't too concerned with finding food that she could eat. Iowa has plenty of vegetables — corn, chief among them — that she said she was sure would fit into her diet.

"Don't worry, I think I'll leave full," she said.

Robin Opsahl covers political trends for the Register. Reach them at ropsahl@registermedia.com or 515-284-8051.

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