Democratic presidential candidate Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-Hawaii) explained what she believes is the "rot" within her own party during its fifth primary debate Wednesday night, and took a chance to once again blast its 2016 nominee, Hillary Clinton.

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The Hawaii Democrat was asked by a moderator, "Congresswoman Gabbard, you have criticized Hillary Clinton as the 'personification of the rot that has sickened the Democratic Party.' What is the rot you see in the Democratic Party?"

"That our Democratic Party, unfortunately, is not the party that is of, by, and for the people," the candidate replied. "It is a party that has been and continues to be influenced by the foreign policy establishment in Washington, represented by Hillary Clinton and others' foreign policy, by the military industrial complex, and other greedy corporate interests."

"I'm running for president to be the democratic nominee that rebuilds our Democratic Party, takes it out of their hands and truly puts it in the hands of the people of this country," Gabbard continued. "A party that actually hears the voices of Americans who are struggling all across this country, and puts it in the hands of veterans and fellow Americans who are calling for an end to this Bush-Clinton-Trump foreign policy doctrine of regime change wars, overthrowing dictators in other countries."

Gabbard went on to argue that the trillions of dollars spend on foreign wars would be better spent at home in the U.S.



Tulsi Gabbard explains how Hillary Clinton represents the 'rot' of the Democratic Party youtu.be

The congresswoman's response received strong reactions on social media, with "Tulsi" continuing as a top trend on Twitter throughout the debate. Democrats expressed frustration toward Gabbard for daring to criticize the party, with many asking why she was allowed on the stage in the first place — especially as conservative outlets and advocates for President Donald Trump seized on her comments.



But Gabbard didn't let up. Her campaign posted an exchange between her and rival Sen. Kamala Harris — with whom she has sparred with in the past — with another line from the debate: "I volunteered to deploy to Iraq where every single day I saw the terribly high human cost of war. No, I'm not going to put party interest first. I will put the interest of the American people above all else."

