Trump turned to an ex-Democrat to help with his debate prep. It didn’t work

Former Hawaii rep ridiculed for Republican nominee’s performance against Kamala Harris

Tulsi Gabbard, the former Democrat who left the party and pledged allegiance to Donald Trump, was roasted online for her role in the former president’s debate preparation after his rambling performance opposite Kamala Harris.

Once the Democratic representative for Hawaii’s second district in the House, following a failed 2020 presidential run, she veered to the right eventually even becoming a fill-in host for Tucker Carlson on Fox News.

This culminated in endorsing Trump for his campaign to return to the White House, being named co-chair of his transition team (alongside Robert F Kennedy Jr), and giving Trump advice as his first debate against Harris approached.

No matter what Trump says after the fact, Harris is seen as the clear winner of the September 10 debate hosted by ABC News, and fingers are being pointed as to who was to blame.

Harris spent days preparing in Pittsburgh, holding mock sessions on a stage with lights to recreate the debate environment.

Trump instead relied on informal chats with advisers, campaign appearances and media interviews to prepare, with Gabbard — who had a memorably hostile exchange with Harris in a Democratic presidential debate in 2019 — offering advice.

On a call with reporters on Monday, Gabbard said Trump would treat Harris the same as any other opponent.

Tulsi Gabbard, right, said Trump would “stay focused on the issues that matter the most” during the debate - he did not. (AFP via Getty Images)

“President Trump respects women and doesn’t feel the need to be patronizing or to speak to women in any other way than he would speak to a man,” she said.

Fast forward to late on Tuesday night, Gabbard was challenged by a NewsNation reporter in person about how the debate went.

Asked if she felt they had prepped enough for the debate, she gave a stern “yes” in response, adding: “We stayed focused on the issues that matter the most.”

The clip posted on X, formerly Twitter, then cuts to Trump’s now infamous (and totally baseless) statement about migrants in Springfield, Ohio, eating people’s pets.

Online commenters quickly turned on Gabbard.

“Shout out to Tulsi Gabbard for her brilliant debate prep—and to RFK Jr, for lending Trump his brain worm,” wrote one user on X, a veteran of the US Marines. “Well done you two!!!”

Jackson Peel, Florida rapid response director for Harris, wrote: “On behalf of Democrats everywhere, I’d like to thank Tulsi Gabbard for her hard work tonight.”

“Angry Staffer”, a popular X account that began in the Trump administration, posted in reference to the former president’s notoriously short-lived communications director: “Tulsi Gabbard’s career as a debate coach didn’t even last a whole Scaramucci.”

Anthony Scaramucci lasted just 10 days in the White House.

Former Obama White House staffer Tommy Vietor wrote: “Feel confident saying Trump got worked in that debate.

“Prepping by holding ‘policy sessions’ with idiots like @mattgaetz and @TulsiGabbard was a fatal mistake. He looked angry, swallowed the bait every time, and his rants about eating animals and crowd size tanked in dials.”

Gabbard herself took to X just over an hour into the debate, posting: “This debate is three vs one — the ABC moderators clearly shilling for Kamala Harris.”

With additional reporting from agencies