Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-Hawaii), an outspoken critic of her own party, conceded that the House impeachment against President Donald Trump will further “embolden” the president and thereby increase the “likelihood” that he will remain president for the next five years.
Gabbard’s statement comes after she was criticized by her party for being the only Democrat who voted “present” on the two articles of impeachment.
“Second, the impeachment in my view, will actually increase his support amongst voters, and it’s going to make him harder to defeat.”
Gabbard added that the House impeachment has also increased the likelihood that Republicans will take over the House of Representatives.
Criticism and Praise
Former Hawaii governor and fellow Democrat Rep. Neil Abercrombie (D-Hawaii) criticized Gabbard for not voting in favor of Trump’s impeachment and called for Gabbard’s resignation, reported the Huffington Post.Additionally, on Dec. 24 Gabbard was noticeably absent from a new “unity” fundraising advertisement produced by the Democratic National Committee.
“After doing my due diligence in reviewing the 658-page impeachment report, I came to the conclusion that I could not in good conscience vote either yes or no,” Gabbard said in a statement.
“She took a pass. But I don’t know. I do know one thing: she’s not an agent of Russia,” Trump added.
Trump’s reference to Gabbard as not being an “agent of Russia” was in response to allegations by former Secretary of State, and 2016 presidential rival, Hillary Clinton that Gabbard is a Russian asset.
Clinton claimed, without offering any evidence, that Gabbard was a “favorite of the Russians” and “they have a bunch of sites and bots and other ways of supporting her, so far.”
Furthermore, Gabbard has been critical of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi since she announced that House Democrats wouldn’t send the articles of impeachment over to the Senate until they felt a “fair” trial would be held there.