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

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.

“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