Democratic Hawaii Rep. Tulsi Gabbard is still not joining many of her fellow Democrats on the anti-Trump impeachment train.
During an appearance on CNN Tuesday, Gabbard still did not voice support of impeachment among widespread buzz in Washington over a surfaced whistleblower complaint that President Trump allegedly attempted to withhold military aid from Ukraine in exchange for dirt on former Vice President Joe Biden.
Pelosi announced an official impeachment inquiry Tuesday.
“My position remains the same. I think that impeachment would be terribly divisive for our already very divided country,” the Democratic candidate told CNN.
“I think the question of impeachment really would further tear apart an already divided country,” she said. “I think it’s important that Donald Trump is defeated. I believe I can defeat him in 2020. But it’s the voters who need to make that choice unequivocally.”
Gabbard also said that Democrats need to be focused on beating Trump in the election, not on removing him from office.
“If the motivation is political and the evidence is not there for those who are calling for impeachment to continue to pursue that, that just proves how divisive this will be, because then, whether it’s Donald Trump’s supporters, or Republicans, moderates, independents, they’ll say okay, gosh, guys come on, this is politics as usual, you couldn’t beat Trump in 2016. Now you’re trying to do it through Congress,” she said.
“This is why it’s so important that the American people make this decision, that we as Democratic candidates for president make our case and defeat Donald Trump through the ballot box. If some of my colleagues who are running for president don’t think they can do that, then maybe they shouldn’t be running.”
Gabbard qualified for the fourth Democratic debate Tuesday. The 38-year-old candidate is firmly with the left on some issues, but has expressed some positions that run against the more radical members of her party, such as the need for physical barriers at the border. (RELATED: Tulsi Gabbard Comes Out Against Third Trimester Abortions Except If Mother’s Life Is At Risk)