John Gabbard
John Gabbard
John Gabbard is a Democrat and a member of the House of Representatives from Hawaii. He is known for his support for LGBTQ rights, his opposition to military interventionism and his advocacy of veterans’ rights.
He is also a mowing contractor, an avid surfer and a member of Berea Masonic Lodge 617 F&AM. He was a United States Navy veteran.
Early Life and Education
Gabbard was born in American Samoa, a territory of the United States. Her birth certificate lists her as an American citizen, which enables her to run for president in 2020.
As a teenager, she embraced Hinduism. She grew up influenced by the Science of Identity Foundation, an offshoot of the Hare Krishnas.
In 2015, she referred to the foundation’s leader, Chris Butler, as her “guru dev” (spiritual master), and admitted that he had played a central role in her spiritual journey.
The foundation’s teachings are virulently homophobic, anti-Islamic, and misogynist. It is considered a cult by some critics, and Gabbard has always downplayed her involvement with it. She has also criticized the group’s ties to the military. She is a combat veteran, having been deployed twice in the Middle East.
Professional Career
John Gabbard is an anti-interventionist Democrat who has been critical of the US government’s foreign policy. He was a member of the Iraq National Guard and has spoken about how his service in the war led him to support a noninterventionist approach to foreign policy.
He is a well-known and respected transit advocate, writing a huge number of articles at Streetsblog Los Angeles. His work has been praised by many and recognized with several awards.
His professional life also includes serving in the US Army Reserves as a civilian officer. He recently transferred out of the Hawaii Army National Guard and into a civilian position at an Army Reserve unit in California.
Achievements and Honors
Gabbard was elected to the Hawaii State House of Representatives in 2002 at the age of 21. She served in a field medical unit of the Hawaii Army National Guard while deployed to Iraq from 2004 to 2005, and was stationed in Kuwait as an Army military police platoon leader from 2008 to 2009.
In 2007, she graduated from the Accelerated Officer Candidate School at the Alabama Military Academy and became the first woman to finish the school’s distinguished honor graduate. She later served as a legislative aide to Senator Daniel Akaka and deployed to Kuwait, training counterterrorism units.
Upon returning to Washington, she was elected vice chair of the Democratic National Committee from 2013 to 2016. She resigned in February 2016 to endorse Senator Bernie Sanders for the Democratic nomination. She is an advocate for non-interventionist foreign policy and a champion of veterans’ rights.
Personal Life
Gabbard, a former vice chair of the Democratic National Committee and a member of the House of Representatives, is a combat veteran who served in Iraq as a field medical officer. She is a fierce anti-interventionist and a supporter of veterans’ rights.
She has a deep distrust of President Trump and has criticized him on foreign policy issues. She has defended authoritarian leaders like Syria’s Bashar al-Assad, who has killed his own people with chemical weapons and has been accused of crimes against humanity.
She has also favored India’s Hindu-nationalist Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who has condoned sectarian violence in the country. In 2013, she voted against a bipartisan House resolution that condemned anti-Muslim violence in Gujarat.
Net Worth
Tulsi Gabbard, who was elected to Congress in 2013, is the first Samoan American and Hindu member of the U.S. House of Representatives.
Gabbard is also a staunch supporter of Bernie Sanders. She was an early endorsee of the Vermont senator and resigned her seat as vice chairwoman of the DNC when she clashed with DNC Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman-Schultz over the schedule for the 2016 presidential debates.
Gabbard’s net worth is estimated to be $500,000. But Forbes puts her wealth at $800,000. Other candidates with more money include New York City Mayor Bill DeBlasio, who has a $2.5 million fortune and Sen. Amy Klobuchar and her husband John Bessler, who are both listed at $2 million.
