Appearing Thursday on The Hill’s Rising, Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-HI) slammed Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA) for accusing her of being close to the regime of Syrian president Bashar al-Assad and mocking her low polling numbers, calling the attacks “pathetic” and “cheap.”
The evening prior, Harris responded to fierce criticism from Gabbard (D-HI) during Wednesday’s Democrat debate regarding on her prosecutorial record in California, quipping that she is a “top tier candidate” who can sustain blows and still maintain her approval ratings. Harris’ comments came after the Hawaii congresswoman blasted her for imprisoning 1,500 people for marijuana usage — yet laughing when asked if she ever smoked the drug herself.
A partial transcript is as follows:
SAAGAR ENJETI: What we have seen from Kamala Harris — not only did she denigrate you for polling less than she did — but she accused you of being close to the Assad regime and that she can’t take you seriously. I want to give you an opportunity to respond to that.
REP. TULSI GABBARD: Honestly, it’s pathetic that when confronted with the facts and the truth about her record that she claims to be proud of, as a prosecutor and as attorney general of California, all she can do is lob cheap smears. The American people deserve better than this, especially when her whole campaign is predicated on being a champion for the people, being a champion for black and brown people in this country, who have been on the brunt end of racial injustice and an unjust criminal system for too long. This is all a lie, because when she was in a position to do something about it, when she was in a position to make a difference and truly be a champion for the people, she furthered and perpetuated this unfair, unjust system that harmed many black and brown people in the state of California.