Trump recruits former Democrat Tulsi Gabbard to prepare for debate against Harris

Former Democratic Rep. Tulsi Gabbard was "booked" by Donald Trump to prepare for the debate against Vice President Kamala Harris, which will take place next September 10 on ABC News, in the city of Philadelphia.

According to The New York Times, Gabbard recently participated in a strategy session with Trump and other top advisers at Mar-a-Lago, Florida. The former president's campaign confirmed the former representative's involvement, though a spokesman assured that it was not classic debate prep.

"[Trump has] proven to be one of the best debaters in political history as evidenced by his knockout blow to Joe Biden," campaign spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt told the NYT. "He does not need traditional debate prep but will continue to meet with respected policy advisers and effective communicators like Tulsi Gabbard, who successfully dominated Kamala Harris on the debate stage in 2020."

In political circles Trump is known for being reluctant to prepare for debates in a traditional way. However, the media outlet revealed that the former president has spent more time this year practicing for the debates than he did in 2016 or 2020. One of the reasons is because in the first debate against Biden in 2020 the former president's performance was a bit disappointing after showing an "overbearing" image. His style was diametrically opposed in the last face-to-face with the Democratic president.

In this case, the NYT explained that Gabbard's presence is not due to her departure from the Democratic Party following her 2020 presidential pre-candidacy or her popularity among Trump voters. Rather, it is due in part to her participation in a 2019 Democratic presidential primary debate, when the former representative and Harris went head-to-head in a memorable encounter in which the current vice president was left in an unfavorable position.

The problem, perhaps, is that Gabbard's attacks on Harris came especially from the left, with the former representative questioning the former California prosecutor's record for prosecuting people for marijuana-related offenses.

"Put over 1,500 people in jail for marijuana violations and then laughed about it when she was asked if she ever smoked marijuana," Gabbard said of Harris, in a particularly embarrassing moment for the Democratic vice president, one of the most progressive politicians in the country.

It's unclear whether Trump plans to use attacks from the left against Harris, but Gabbard's help suggests the former president may be seeking the advice of a woman with extensive political experience at a time when he is facing a woman for the second time in a presidential race after defeating Hillary Clinton in 2016.