Tulsi Gabbard and RFK Jr. signed on to Trump's transition team

Former Democratic congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard and former independent candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. joined Donald Trump's transition team, the Republican front-runner's campaign announced.

Brian Hughes, senior advisor to the Trump campaign, made the announcement in a statement:

"As President Trump’s broad coalition of supporters and endorsers expands across partisan lines, we are proud that Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Tulsi Gabbard have been added to the Trump/Vance Transition team. We look forward to having their powerful voices on the team was we work to restore America’s greatness."

The announcement comes after former Democrats officially endorsed the Republican nominee in the 2024 presidential race.

Gabbard, recognized for being the first Samoan American and practicing Hindu to be elected to Congress in 2012, tried unsuccessfully to win the Democratic presidential nomination in 2020 and, after withdrawing, endorsed Joe Biden. However, in 2022, the former congresswoman abruptly abandoned the Democratic Party, becoming a prominent critic of the group she considers "elitist" and "warmongering."

Since then, Gabbard has gained popularity in the conservative world. She has become increasingly close to former President Trump, to the point of being recruited to assist him in organizing the debate against Kamala Harris scheduled for September 10.

"President Biden campaigned on a message of unity, healing the partisan divide bringing the country together. He just gave a big speech saying supporters of President (Donald) Trump are the most extremist group in our country and a threat to our democracy. That’s half the country," Gabbard said in 2022 when she announced her departure from the Democratic Party.

For his part, RFK Jr. attempted to challenge Biden in the Democratic primaries. However, after realizing that the Democratic Party would not allow a truly competitive electoral process -with debates and candidates who had the potential to unseat the president- he decided to run as an independent, managing to consolidate double-digit support in the polls several months ago.

However, as the campaign progressed, RFK Jr. lost support and ultimately decided to endorse Trump after Democrats tried to exclude him from the ballot in swing states.

The endorsements of RFK Jr. and Gabbard are resonant because they are two political figures who could, in a way, reach out to a swing independent electorate that could be decisive in the most hotly contested states such as Georgia, Arizona, Wisconsin, Michigan, Nevada or Pennsylvania, which will likely define the fate of Harris and Trump in November.