'Don’t even try to pretend': Tulsi Gabbard lashes out at politicians who claim to know what war zones are like
NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK: Former Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard lashed out at the politicians from Washington for claiming and pretending to know “what it’s like” to be in a combat zone.
The 42-year-old while narrating her journey in the military to a group named ‘The Veterans Project’ said that the politicians didn’t “understand who pays the price for their decisions.”
She called them out for visiting the troops in the combat zones for mere “photo ops” and then returning to Washington, narrating their experience with a sense of bravery and claiming that they know how tough a life in a combat zone can be.
Gabbard let all her fury out against these politicians and revealed that her time in the military motivated her to join politics to make crucial decisions for veterans.
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Tulsi Gabbard slams politicians for ‘pretending’ to know about ‘combat zones’
In a brief clip shared on her Instagram, Gabbard captured the essence of her military journey by calling out the politicians for their ignorant behavior.
She said, “I came from a political background, and I understood how too many of our politicians just don’t get it. They don’t understand who pays the price for their decisions.”
Gabbard spoke of how many politicians visited Iraq merely for photo ops with the troops and then returned to Washington, claiming that they know what “combat zones” are like.
“We saw too many of those politicians come to visit us there in Iraq, get the photo op, shake hands, pat people on the back, maybe stay for 24 hours, and then move on.”
“And when they got back to Washington… it just made me laugh and it made me sick at the same time. I heard politicians say, ‘I’ve been to a combat zone 37 times and I know what this is like.’”
She lashed out at them and said, “No, you don’t know anything about what it’s like. So don’t even try to pretend… go and talk to the people who live this experience”
Tulsi Gabbard says Congress has ‘abdicated' the ‘responsibility to declare war'
Gabbard urged Congress to act responsibly while declaring war and also remind themselves of the impact their decision will continue to have.
She said, “Congress has a constitutional responsibility to declare war. Congress has abdicated on that responsibility for a very long time, but that is the constitutionally dictated responsibility of Congress.”
“Know the impact of that before you make that decision. Know the impact of the decisions that you make about training and readiness, taking care of families, and taking care of veterans."
She continued, “What happens here at home when it’s time to care for the people who have made that decision to raise their right hand and take an oath to support and defend the Constitution against all enemies, foreign and domestic, and who are willing to sacrifice their life to do so?”
Tulsi Gabbard's experience of ‘first deployment’ made her join politics
The former Congresswoman admitted that the experience of her “first deployment” was an eye-opener and pushed her toward policy decisions.
She stated, “The experiences of my first deployment and the many lessons that I personally learned are what drove me to be in a position to somehow, some way, impact the decisions that are made in Washington — about our military, about foreign policy, about our veterans.”
“I knew my own unique experiences would make better-informed decisions than those that were being made at the time.”