US presidential election 2024: Tusli Gabbard, former Democratic presidential candidate, joins the Republican Party at Donald Trump's rally in North Carolina

Former US congresswoman and Democratic presidential candidate Tulsi Gabbard officially joined the Republican Party at 78-year-old Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump's campaign rally in Greensboro, North Carolina, a battleground state. Gabbard, who left the Democratic Party in 2022, had already supported Trump's presidential candidacy in August 2024.

The Trump rally held in the swing state marked her complete separation from the Democratic Party, which she had sought to represent just four years earlier.

Gabbard, 43, who recently joined Trump's campaign as an honorary co-chair of his transition team along with Robert F. Kennedy, another former Democrat, expressed her admiration for Trump's leadership in transforming the Republican Party.

“I am proud to stand here with you today, President Trump, and announce that I am joining the Republican Party. I’m joining the party of the people,” Gabbard said during the rally. “The Party of Equality. The party founded to combat and end slavery in this country. It is the party of common sense and the party led by a president who has the courage and strength to fight for peace.”

Immediately after Gabbard joined the team, Donald Trump expressed surprise and then praised her for the move.

“Thank you very much, Tulsi. That's great. Wow, that was a surprise,” Trump said. “That was really the case, she has been independent for a long time. This is a great thing. A great honor. Thank you Tulsi.”

Gabbard served as vice chair of the Democratic National Committee in her political career from 2013 to 2016 before stepping down to support Sen. Bernie Sanders in the 2016 race for the White House.

A Democrat, Gabbard also represented Hawaii's Second District in Congress from 2023 to 2021. She also served in the U.S. Army Reserves with the rank of lieutenant colonel.

Gabbard, who ran in the 2020 Democratic presidential primary, drew attention for her sharp criticism of Kamala Harris, the 2024 Democratic presidential nominee, particularly Harris' record as a prosecutor in California during a debate, Fox News reported.

After leaving the Democratic Party in 2022, Gabbard became an independent, hosting her own podcast and speaking at conservative events.