WASHINGTON, Jan 11 (Reuters) — Democratic US Representative Tulsi Gabbard of Hawaii said in remarks aired by CNN yesterday that she will run for president in 2020, becoming the latest member of her party to pursue a challenge to Republican President Donald Trump.

“I have decided to run and will be making a formal announcement within the next week,” Gabbard, a liberal 37-year-old Iraq War veteran as well as the first Hindu and first Samoan-American elected to the US Congress, told CNN.

US Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts on December 31 announced she had formed an exploratory committee for a White House run in what is expected to be a crowded Democratic primary field before the November 2020 presidential election.

Gabbard said “the issue of war and peace” would be the main focus of her campaign.

Her office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The Democratic presidential field could eventually include Senators Kamala Harris, Cory Booker and Kirsten Gillibrand, as well as former Vice President Joe Biden. Julian Castro, former President Barack Obama’s housing secretary, also formed an exploratory committee in December.

In the race to pick a candidate to run against Trump, Democrats will grapple with the tension between the party’s establishment and liberal wings that flared during the 2016 state-by-state nominating contests between former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Senator Bernie Sanders, an independent who ran under the Democratic banner.

Gabbard made headlines in 2016 by quitting a leadership post at the Democratic National Committee over the party’s decision to limit the number of debates between Clinton and Sanders, with analysts believing fewer debates benefited Clinton. Clinton ultimately won the Democratic nomination but lost to Trump.

The congresswoman then endorsed Sanders for president, becoming one of the few members of Congress to do so. Gabbard remains popular with some liberals but will have serious competition with other candidates on the left flank of the party.

Gabbard has also drawn criticism for secretly meeting with Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad, whose removal from power she opposes, during a 2017 trip to the war-ravaged country.

Iowa holds the first presidential nominating contest in 13 months. Warren informally kicked off the 2020 Democratic presidential nominating fight on visit last weekend to Iowa, condemning the corrupting influence of money on politics and lamenting lost economic opportunities for working families. — Reuters</s>Tulsi Gabbard, first Hindu Congress woman, to run for US president in 2020

Tulsi Gabbard, member of the US House of Representative, on Friday said she will run for President in 2020.



The 37-year old Democrat from Hawaii made her plan public while talking to CNN.

Tulsi Gabbard is the first Hindu member of US Congress who also serves on the House Foreign Affairs committee.

She is among many Democrats who has come forward with plans to challenge President Donald Trump next year.



Names of Senator Elizabeth Warren, former member of Obama cabinet Julian Castro, former Vice President Joe Biden and Senator Bernie Sanders have emerged as potential candidates for the presidency, according to local media reports.</s>Hawaii Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, the first American Samoan and Hindu member of Congress, announced Friday she’s throwing her hat in the ring to challenge President Donald Trump in 2020.

“There are a lot of reasons for me to make this decision,” Gabbard told CNN’s Van Jones during a radio interview set to air in full Saturday night. “There are a lot of challenges that are facing the American people that I’m concerned about and that I want to help solve.”

The 37-year-old is the third high-profile Democrat to announce her 2020 run.

Former Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julian Castro announced a presidential exploratory committee last month. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., followed suit and announced her own committee on New Year’s Eve in what is expected to be a crowded primary, as Democrats hope to learn from their 2016 mistakes and unseat Trump.

Gabbard, a major proponent of Sen. Bernie Sanders’ 2016 bid, said she will be pushing for combating climate change, reforming the criminal justice system and providing health care for all Americans.

But, a veteran of the Iraq War, Gabbard said her “main issue” will be “war and peace.”
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“I look forward to being able to get into this and to talk about it in depth when we make our announcement,” she said.

Gabbard has courted some controversy through her thoroughly anti-interventionist foreign policy approach.

In particular, Gabbard stoked outrage after she met with Syrian dictator Bashar Assad in 2017 — a meeting she claimed in an interview was “important” in the mission to “achieve peace” for the Syrian people. Assad stands accused of killing hundreds of thousands of his own citizens by having his military launch chemical attacks.

Mere minutes after Gabbard’s announcement, the Republican National Committee put out a “cheat sheet” about the Hawaii congresswoman dubbing her “Assad’s mouthpiece in Washington.”</s>WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Democratic U.S. Representative Tulsi Gabbard of Hawaii said in remarks aired by CNN on Friday that she will run for president in 2020, becoming the latest member of her party to pursue a challenge to Republican President Donald Trump.

“I have decided to run and will be making a formal announcement within the next week,” Gabbard, a liberal 37-year-old Iraq War veteran as well as the first Hindu and first Samoan-American elected to the U.S. Congress, told CNN.

U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts on Dec. 31 announced she had formed an exploratory committee for a White House run in what is expected to be a crowded Democratic primary field before the November 2020 presidential election.

Gabbard said “the issue of war and peace” would be the main focus of her campaign.

Her office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The Democratic presidential field could eventually include Senators Kamala Harris, Cory Booker and Kirsten Gillibrand, as well as former Vice President Joe Biden. Julian Castro, former President Barack Obama’s housing secretary, also formed an exploratory committee in December.

In the race to pick a candidate to run against Trump, Democrats will grapple with the tension between the party’s establishment and liberal wings that flared during the 2016 state-by-state nominating contests between former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Senator Bernie Sanders, an independent who ran under the Democratic banner.

Gabbard made headlines in 2016 by quitting a leadership post at the Democratic National Committee over the party’s decision to limit the number of debates between Clinton and Sanders, with analysts believing fewer debates benefited Clinton. Clinton ultimately won the Democratic nomination but lost to Trump.

The congresswoman then endorsed Sanders for president, becoming one of the few members of Congress to do so. Gabbard remains popular with some liberals but will have serious competition with other candidates on the left flank of the party.

Gabbard has also drawn criticism for secretly meeting with Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad, whose removal from power she opposes, during a 2017 trip to the war-ravaged country.

Iowa holds the first presidential nominating contest in 13 months. Warren informally kicked off the 2020 Democratic presidential nominating fight on visit last weekend to Iowa, condemning the corrupting influence of money on politics and lamenting lost economic opportunities for working families.</s>The 2020 presidential election is nearly two years away, but people are already lining up to take on President Trump. The latest person to toss their hat in the 2020 race is Tulsi Gabbard, a Democrat from Hawaii who has served in Congress since 2012. She made her announcement on Friday, Jan. 11, and eyes have been on her ever since, with many people wondering: Who is Tulsi Gabbard? Let's just say she's got a pretty decorated resume.

Gabbard, 37, is an Iraq War veteran and the first American Samoan and Hindu to hold a congressional seat, according to CNN. While in office, she reportedly co-founded the Congressional Future Caucus, an organization of young congressmen and women dedicated to working on issues that Millennials care about, per The Guardian, and she's landed foreign affairs and armed services assignments on the House Foreign Affairs Committee. In other words, she's done some pretty impressive stuff. According to her House website, Gabbard was first elected to the United States House of Representatives in 2012 to represent Hawaii's 2nd District.

As far as her stances go, Gabbard, per her House website, backs Medicare for All (she's a cosponsor of H.R.676, Expanded & Improved Medicare for All Act), criminal justice reform, and gun control, including the ban of bump stocks, which has earned her the support of Sen. Bernie Sanders (D-Vermont) and liberal-friendly groups like Planned Parenthood. In fact, those issues are seemingly what motivated Gabbard to run for the White House.

"There are a lot of reasons for me to make this decision. There are a lot of challenges that are facing the American people that I'm concerned about and that I want to help solve," she said, listing her platform issues, which include health care, criminal justice reform and climate change, per CNN. "There is one main issue that is central to the rest, and that is the issue of war and peace," Gabbard continued. "I look forward to being able to get into this and to talk about it in depth when we make our announcement." Gabbard reportedly said she will make her official announcement within the next week.

But, of course, she's experienced some controversies, too. In 2017, Gabbard faced criticism for her "secret" meeting with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, whose regime has allegedly used chemical attacks to kill its own people. But her spokesperson told The Hill that Gabbard had been given permission to travel to Syria by the House Ethics Committee. After her trip, Gabbard shared that she personally reimbursed the cost of the trip, even though the trip reportedly met every requirement of the House Ethics Committee, per a press release Gabbard put out on Jan. 31, 2017. The House Ethics Committee did not provide an official comment on the matter at the time. "She has stated time and again that peace can never be achieved if we only meet and speak with our friends. If we really want peace, we need to be fearless enough to sit down and speak directly with our adversaries," a spokesperson added to The Guardian.

She met similar criticism in 2016, when she chose to meet with President Donald Trump after he was elected. But, well, you'd think the same sentiment applies.

Gabbard is one of few who have announced bids for the presidency. Other candidates include Julian Castro, who served as Housing and Urban Development Secretary under President Barack Obama from 2014 to 2017, and was the mayor of San Antonio, Texas between 2009 and 2014. Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Massachusetts) announced on Dec. 31, 2018 that she would be launching an exploratory committee to test the waters for a potential bid. And the other names that have been floated include Sanders, former Vice President Joe Biden, Texas Senate candidate Beto O'Rourke, and Sen. Kamala Harris (D-California).

You'll have to keep an eye out to see who else decides to step up in the race from here.</s>Tulsi Gabbard, Julian Castro and Elizabeth Warren will all vie to win the Democrat nomination

Tulsi Gabbard, the Democratic US Representative of Hawaii, has become the latest Democrat to throw her hat in the ring for the US presidential election in 2020.

In remarks aired by CNN on Friday, Ms Gabbard said she intended to pursue a challenge to Republican President Donald Trump.

"I have decided to run and will be making a formal announcement within the next week," Ms Gabbard said.

She is the latest to join what is expected to be a crowded Democratic primary field before the November 2020 presidential election.

Here are all the Democrats who have announced they will be running.

The US Senator of Massachusetts announced on December 31 she had formed an exploratory committee for a presidential run in 2020.

The following week, Ms Warren informally kicked off the nominating fight on a visit to Iowa, condemning the corrupting influence of money on politics and lamenting lost economic opportunities for working families.

In the state that holds the first presidential nominating contest in 13 months, Ms Warren introduced herself to Iowa crowds with tales of her working-class upbringing in Oklahoma and emphasised her signature theme of income inequality.

"Washington works great for those with money but not for anyone else. We need to call this what it is, corruption pure and simple," the Massachusetts senator told Democrats in Sioux City on the second of five public stops during her three-day visit.

So far she is the biggest name to enter the Democratic field.

The Former San Antonio Mayor also kicked off the year by announcing his intention to run. Julian Castro introduced himself to Iowa Democrats early in January as a champion for universal health care and affordable housing as he indicated he was close to launching a run for the presidency.

Mr Castro, 44, spoke with party activists at a crowded house party in North Liberty after forming an exploratory committee in December.

Mr Castro said he would lay out his vision for making the United States "the smartest, the healthiest, the fairest and the most prosperous nation in the world." He said his plans would include expanding Medicare to allow access for all and addressing what he called a housing affordability crisis in which rising rents are squeezing the poor and middle class.

Mr Castro, who served as the nation's housing secretary during President Barack Obama's second term, also promised that he will not accept money from political action committees tied to corporations and unions. The Democrat congressman from Maryland was the first to throw his hat into the ring when he made his announcement in September, 2017. The 55-year-old said he was not seeking a fourth term in Congress, instead devoting time and money to his White House campaign. Representative John Delaney, a Democrat from Maryland, was the first to throw his hat in the ring Mr Delaney launched a pre-emptive strike to win some name recognition. "I think am the right person for the job, but not enough people know that," he told the Telegraph at the time at a gathering of around 40 Democratic activists held in a suburban home in southern New Hampshire. "So the way I solve that problem is by getting in early and spending more time." Mr Delaney pitch is unashamedly moderate, this could prove to be a weakness at a time when some Democrats have buyer's remorse at having opted for Hillary Clinton rather than Bernie Sanders, whose campaign captured the public imagination Gabbard, an Iraq War veteran who is the first Hindu elected to Congress and the first member born in the US territory of American Samoa, said "the issue of war and peace" would be the main focus of her campaign. The 37-year-old's run would not be without controversy. In 2016, she alarmed fellow Democrats when she met with Donald Trump during his transition to president and later when she took a secret trip to Syria and met with President Bashar Assad, who has been accused of war crimes and genocide. She questioned whether he was responsible for a chemical attack on civilians that killed dozens and led the U.S. to attack a Syrian air base. Representative Gabbard delivers a nomination speech for Sanders on the second day at the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia She said she doesn't regret the trip and considers it important to meet with adversaries if "you are serious about pursuing peace." She also noted that the 2003 invasion of Iraq was based on faulty intelligence and said that she wanted to understand the evidence of the Syria attack. Gabbard was one of the most prominent lawmakers to back Sanders over Hillary Clinton in the 2016 Democratic presidential primary. Her endorsement came in dramatic fashion, with her resigning as a vice chairwoman of the Democratic National Committee to express her support. The Democrat field could draw dozens of candidates. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand is moving aggressively toward an expected presidential bid, filling out key staff positions, travelling to key states and nearing a choice on the location for a campaign headquarters, according to multiple people familiar with the discussions. California Sen. Kamala Harris, New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, are all weighing their own presidential bids and are expected to announce decisions in the upcoming weeks. Vice President Joe Biden is also mulling whether to run in what is expected to be a long and potentially divisive presidential primary.</s>Democratic congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard, an Iraq war veteran who met dictator Bashar al-Assad in Syria during that country's devastating civil war, said Friday that she is launching a US presidential bid.

"I have decided to run and will be making a formal announcement within the next week," Gabbard told CNN.

If elected, the 37-year-old lawmaker, who is known to surf the waters of her native Hawaii, would be the youngest president in US history.

She is the first Hindu member of Congress and its first Samoan American member, and she sits on the House Foreign Affairs Committee.

"There are a lot of reasons for me to make this decision. There are a lot of challenges that are facing the American people that I'm concerned about and that I want to help solve," she said.

Gabbard's announcement comes ahead of what is expected to be a wave of high-profile candidates throwing their hats in the ring.

Senator Elizabeth Warren has formed an exploratory committee for a presidential bid, and last week took a high-profile trip to the early voting state of Iowa.

Former vice president Joe Biden and progressive Senator Bernie Sanders, whom Gabbard supported over Hillary Clinton in the 2016 Democratic primaries, are also mulling entering the race.

Julian Castro, a former mayor of San Antonio who served in Barack Obama's cabinet as housing secretary, says he will announce his 2020 plans on Saturday.

Gabbard drew heavy criticism when she met secretly with Assad in Damascus in 2017 during a fact-finding mission that also took her to the decimated city of Aleppo. She also met with refugees and Syrian opposition leaders.

"Originally, I had no intention of meeting with Assad, but when given the opportunity, I felt it was important to take it," Gabbard said when her trip became public.

"I think we should be ready to meet with anyone if there's a chance it can help bring about an end to this war, which is causing the Syrian people so much suffering."

Gabbard was deployed to Iraq in 2005, and she maintains her role as a member of the Hawaii National Guard.</s>WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Democratic U.S. Representative Tulsi Gabbard of Hawaii said in remarks aired by CNN on Friday that she will run for president in 2020, becoming the latest member of her party to pursue a challenge to Republican President Donald Trump.

“I have decided to run and will be making a formal announcement within the next week,” Gabbard, a liberal 37-year-old Iraq War veteran as well as the first Hindu and first Samoan-American elected to the U.S. Congress, told CNN.

U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts on Dec. 31 announced she had formed an exploratory committee for a White House run in what is expected to be a crowded Democratic primary field before the November 2020 presidential election.

Gabbard said “the issue of war and peace” would be the main focus of her campaign.

Her office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The Democratic presidential field could eventually include Senators Kamala Harris, Cory Booker and Kirsten Gillibrand, as well as former Vice President Joe Biden. Julian Castro, former President Barack Obama’s housing secretary, also formed an exploratory committee in December.

In the race to pick a candidate to run against Trump, Democrats will grapple with the tension between the party’s establishment and liberal wings that flared during the 2016 state-by-state nominating contests between former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Senator Bernie Sanders, an independent who ran under the Democratic banner.

Gabbard made headlines in 2016 by quitting a leadership post at the Democratic National Committee over the party’s decision to limit the number of debates between Clinton and Sanders, with analysts believing fewer debates benefited Clinton. Clinton ultimately won the Democratic nomination but lost to Trump.

The congresswoman then endorsed Sanders for president, becoming one of the few members of Congress to do so. Gabbard remains popular with some liberals but will have serious competition with other candidates on the left flank of the party.

Gabbard has also drawn criticism for secretly meeting with Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad, whose removal from power she opposes, during a 2017 trip to the war-ravaged country.

Iowa holds the first presidential nominating contest in 13 months. Warren informally kicked off the 2020 Democratic presidential nominating fight on visit last weekend to Iowa, condemning the corrupting influence of money on politics and lamenting lost economic opportunities for working families.</s>(CNN) Rep. Tulsi Gabbard said Friday she will run for president in 2020.

"I have decided to run and will be making a formal announcement within the next week," the Hawaii Democrat told CNN's Van Jones during an interview slated to air at 7 p.m. Saturday on CNN's "The Van Jones Show."

Gabbard, an Iraq War veteran, currently serves on the House Foreign Affairs Committee. She is the first American Samoan and the first Hindu member of Congress.

"There are a lot of reasons for me to make this decision. There are a lot of challenges that are facing the American people that I'm concerned about and that I want to help solve," she said, listing health care access, criminal justice reform and climate change as key platform issues.

"There is one main issue that is central to the rest, and that is the issue of war and peace," Gabbard added. "I look forward to being able to get into this and to talk about it in depth when we make our announcement."

Read More</s>Hawaii Rep. Tulsi Gabbard will seek the Democratic nomination for president in 2020, she told CNN in an interview.

"There are a lot of reasons for me to make this decision. There are a lot of challenges that are facing the American people that I'm concerned about and that I want to help solve," Gabbard said in an interview set to air Saturday on the network's The Van Jones Show.

"There is one main issue that is central to the rest, and that is the issue of war and peace. I look forward to being able to get into this and to talk about it in depth when we make our announcement," which will come within the next week, Gabbard said.

Foreign policy is an issue where Gabbard has staked out somewhat controversial positions. She's opposed to military intervention, and drew criticism in 2017 for meeting during a secret trip with Syrian President Bashar Assad whose oppressive regime has allegedly used chemical weapons on its own people.

"Whatever you think about President Assad, the fact is that he is the president of Syria," she told CNN's Jake Tapper when she returned from her trip. "In order for any peace agreement — in order for any possibility of a viable peace agreement to occur, there has to be a conversation with him."

President Trump has signaled he plans to withdraw U.S. troops from Syria, a move which was opposed by some military advisers and contributed to the resignation of former Defense Secretary James Mattis.

The 37-year-old Gabbard was a supporter of Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders's presidential campaign in 2016, resigning her position as vice chair of the Democratic National Committee to endorse him. Sanders is also considering another White House bid in 2020. Gabbard was also critical of what she saw as then-DNC Chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz's preferential treatment of eventual nominee Hillary Clinton, and hit her for scheduling only six primary debates.

First elected to Congress in 2012, Gabbard is an Army National Guard veteran who served in Iraq, making her one of the first two female combat veterans ever to serve in Congress. She is also the first Hindu ever elected to Congress.

Gabbard joins a growing list of Democrats who are seeking to challenge Trump next year. Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren has already announced she has set up a 2020 exploratory committee, and former Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julian Castro is expected to announce his campaign on Saturday. At least a dozen other major Democrats are also weighing bids.
Joining several other Democrats in the race, Representative Tulsi Gabbard of Hawaii announces her intention for running in the 2020 United States presidential election.