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- By Neely Bardwell
Native Vote 2024. Former President Donald Trump on Monday, Aug. 26 gave remarks at the 146th National Guard Association of the United States General Conference & Exhibition in Detroit, Michigan. He addressed Army and Air National Guard officers, family members, and others, where he highlighted the critical role the National Guard plays in the nation's security and outlined the stakes of the upcoming election.
"I've had no greater honor in life than to serve as your commander-in-chief. You are 'always ready' and 'always there' for us ... and I'm always going to be there for you," Trump greeted the crowd.
During the event, Trump was endorsed by former U.S. Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-HI), a 17-year veteran of the Hawaii Army National Guard former 2020 Democrat presidential candidate. She will also be present as a moderator of Trump's visit to La Crosse, Wisconsin for a Town Hallon Thursday, August 29, 2024.
"I am confident that his first task will be to do the work to walk us back from the brink of war," she said.
Gabbard, during a Democratic presidential debate in 2020, made the now popular claim against Harris that “she put over 1,500 people in jail for marijuana violations” and “blocked evidence that would have freed an innocent man from death row.” This claim has since been debunked and labeled “misleading.”
A critical investigation revealed that though the laws in California at the time allowed for marijuana possession to be charged, Harris’s office never pursued prosecution of any such cases. Under Harris’s watch, marijuana sales cases were often charged as misdemeanors when they could have been charged as felonies.
PolitiFact notes in its fact check of this debate that most of the cases where evidence may have exonerated someone unfolded before Harris was Attorney General, and Gabbard’s claim that inmates were incarcerated longer than their sentences is not backed up by data.
At the event on Monday, Trump said that he will create a Space National Guard, following in his previous creation of the Space Force Branch. He also vowed to end veteran homelessness with an executive order.
"I will sign an executive order to stop every penny that Harris has been spending on the shelter and transport of illegal aliens — and we will redirect that money to provide shelter and treatment for homeless American veterans."
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