There's no question Tulsi Gabbard and Tucker Carlson are on the same page when it comes to pulling our troops out of Iraq and Syria. During Wednesday night's interview with the presidential candidate, Carlson began by playing videos of Hillary Clinton, Gabbard's nemesis, cackling about killing Libya's Gaddafi and another one where she stated she would "obliterate" Iran if it attacked Israel.

Ever since Hillary suggested that Rep. Gabbard is a Russian spy, there's been bad blood between the two. Gabbard made the most of Tucker's well planned opening, calling Hillary a "warmonger." Tucker, obviously a fan of Gabbard, laughed in agreement. "You're totally right," he said.



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But the congresswoman then used Hillary's support for the Iraq war to criticize President Trump. Many people voted for Trump, she says, because he promised to end "stupid" endless wars. Tulsi told Tucker she hears from Trump voters on the campaign trail who supported him "largely on this issue." (Gabbard's a little off with this, as polls in 2016 showed that illegal immigration, Obamacare, and jobs were among the leading issues for Trump voters.) "Unfortunately," said Gabbard, "President Trump's actions are undermining our national security" by refocusing our troops' attention to defending against Iran, instead of "preventing a resurgence of ISIS and al Qaeda."

Gabbard's military service has always been the centerpiece of her political campaigns. When Tucker asked her what she would do about the situation in Iraq, Gabbard reminded the host she is the only Democratic candidate who has served in uniform in Iraq. "For days now I've been calling for our troops to come home from Iraq and Syria," she said. Many Americans, she said, have told her they are "confident as commander-in-chief she would end the longstanding wars."

Gabbard has gotten quite a bit of political mileage out of her tours overseas, as have many other veterans serving in Congress. The impressive daughter of a prominent Hawaii politician was elected to the Hawaii State House of Representatives at the age of 21 in 2002 and soon after enlisted in the Hawaii Army National Guard. A local Honolulu newspaper published a story on Gabbard in 2003 where she stated, "In history, some generations have been given everything, and now in this generation where there's a war on terrorism, I'm honored to have the opportunity to give something."

Gabbard seems to have held this view up until 2012, when she ran for the Democratic primary in Hawaii's Second Congressional District and won. If she had any doubts about the United States' involvement in Iraq before she ran for Congress, the "rising star" kept them private. That changed in 2012. In an interview with Truthout, Gabbard said she "was against the war in Iraq. We should never have been there in the first place." In 2016, she strongly supported Sen. Bernie Sanders, even starring in a campaign ad for the candidate touting her service to the country.