Trump campaign congratulates Tulsi Gabbard after Kamala Harris drops out of Democratic race

Jeanine Santucci | USA TODAY

Show Caption Hide Caption 5 things to know about Tulsi Gabbard The congresswoman from Hawaii is joining a growing pool of Democrats ready to take on President Trump. Here are 5 things to know about Rep. Tulsi Gabbard.

After Sen. Kamala Harris announced she was suspending her campaign for president on Tuesday, a Trump 2020 campaign Twitter account account took the opportunity to poke at the tension between her and Democratic candidate Rep. Tulsi Gabbard.

"BREAKING NEWS: @KamalaHarris has ended her campaign for president. Congratulations @TulsiGabbard!" the Trump War Room account tweeted.

Gabbard and Harris have clashed on the debate stage and on Twitter. After the Trump account tweeted, Gabbard also chimed in on the end of Harris' campaign.

"Sending my best wishes to @KamalaHarris, her family & supporters who have campaigned so hard. While we disagree on some issues, we agree on others & I respect her sincere desire to serve the American people. I look forward to working together on the challenges we face as a nation," Gabbard said.

Kamala Harris ends bid:'In good faith, I can’t tell you ... that I have a path forward'

It's not the first time Trump War Room, an account managed by Trump's 2020 campaign, has tweeted positively about Gabbard; the campaign account has shared comments from the Hawaii congresswoman in the past, including the moment from the November debate when Gabbard criticized the establishment of the Democratic Party.

BREAKING NEWS: @KamalaHarris has ended her campaign for president.



Congratulations @TulsiGabbard!🏄‍♀️ pic.twitter.com/WnS247P6d9 — Trump War Room (Text TRUMP to 88022) (@TrumpWarRoom) December 3, 2019

When she was asked a question about her ongoing feud with another major Democratic Party figure, 2016 nominee Hillary Clinton, Gabbard took aim at what she said was a "Bush-Clinton-Trump" foreign policy agenda. She said the Democratic Party needed to break away from "greedy corporate interests."

"Our Democratic Party, unfortunately, is not the party that is of, by and for the people," Gabbard said, a quote that was picked up by the Trump account.

That began the subsequent back-and-forth with Harris over the values of the Democratic Party. Harris accused Gabbard of spending "four years full time on Fox News criticizing President Obama."

“What we need on this stage,” Harris said, “is someone who has the ability to win.”

Gabbard said that Harris continued to “traffic in lies and smears and innuendos because she cannot challenge the substance of the argument that I'm making, the leadership and the change that I am seeking to bring.”

After the Trump War Room tweeted out Gabbard's quote, Harris shared a screenshot on Twitter and said, "I rest my case."

I rest my case. pic.twitter.com/qoAPCSvB8J — Kamala Harris (@KamalaHarris) November 21, 2019

Gabbard also went after Harris' criminal justice record during the July round of primary debates.

“Sen. Harris says she’s proud of her record as a prosecutor and that she’ll be a prosecutor president. But I’m deeply concerned about this record," Gabbard said.

"She put over 1,500 people in jail for marijuana violations and then laughed about it when she was asked if she ever smoked marijuana," she added. "... She kept people in prison beyond their sentences to use them as cheap labor for the state of California."

Gabbard told Harris that she owed an apology to the "people who suffered under your reign as prosecutor."

Harris defended herself by saying, "As the elected attorney general of California, I did the work of significantly reforming the criminal justice system... which became a national model of the work that needs to be done. And I am proud of that work."

2020 debate: Tulsi Gabbard prompts a brawl with Kamala Harris over dig at Democratic Party

Harris announced her campaign's suspension Tuesday afternoon and cited the campaign's financial struggle. She said in a letter to supporters, "In good faith, I can’t tell you, my supporters and volunteers, that I have a path forward if I don’t believe I do."