Sparks flew at the second night of the second Democratic debates as candidates continue to challenge policy positions previously held by the other candidates and expose their records on issues.
One particular exchange involved Democratic Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard who called out Democratic Senator Kamala Harris and said she ought to answer for her criminal justice record as a former California attorney general.
Gabbard came ready and it showed.
In a Washington Examiner op-ed titled, “Tulsi Gabbard just humiliated Kamala Harris in front of 10 million people,” conservative pundit Brad Polumbo wrote “Gabbard went off” and said she clearly “had done her homework, and she absolutely dragged Harris for her abysmal record as California attorney general.”
Bringing up Harris’ criminal justice record, Gabbard said: “There are too many examples to cite, but she put over 1,500 people in jail for marijuana violations and laughed about it when she was asked if she ever smoked marijuana.”
Rep. Tulsi Gabbard on Sen. Kamala Harris' time as prosecutor: "I'm concerned about this record of Senator Harris. She put over 1,500 people in jail for marijuana violations and laughed about it when she was asked if she ever smoked marijuana." https://t.co/UHkoBEovjF #DemDebate2 pic.twitter.com/xGy91CLKqI
— ABC News (@ABC) August 1, 2019
Here’s more from the Washington Examiner op-ed:
Gabbard attacked Harris for having locked up thousands of people for mere marijuana possession and laughing about it when asked whether she had smoked pot herself.The congresswoman piled onto Harris, adding on a reference to her office’s shameful move to keep people locked up to preserve “cheap labor for the state of California.”
This is all true, and here are the receipts. But Gabbard didn’t stop there.
The Hawaii congresswoman also called out Harris for the fact that while attorney general, she fought to keep people incarcerated despite exonerating evidence and fought to preserve the unfair system of cash bail.
Gabbard ends her comments, speaking to Harris, saying: “When you were in a position to make a difference, you did not. The people who suffered under your reign as a prosecutor, you owe them an apology.”
Watch:
Joe Biden isn't the only one being attacked tonight. Rep. Tulsi Gabbard didn't hold back when she took on Sen. Kamala Harris' criminal justice record. #DemDebate pic.twitter.com/7eZE6v6ZHW
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) August 1, 2019
The clip was widely shared online resulting in Gabbard being the most Google-searched presidential candidate after the debate.
Following the last two debates, Tulsi has spiked to #1 in Google Trends, showing America is hungry for her message of ending wasteful wars and the nuclear arms race. Join us to ensure she makes the donation requirement for the September debate #DemDebate https://t.co/pcTHp1M8ei pic.twitter.com/x4FS7oVK5P
— Tulsi Gabbard (@TulsiGabbard) August 1, 2019
In case you’d like to see Tulsi Gabbard destroying Kamala Harris again, here you go:
pic.twitter.com/WJvSwdlx3f— Courtney Holland 🇺🇸 (@hollandcourtney) August 1, 2019
Kamala got rekt. Absolutely brutal. pic.twitter.com/iDoEN3I6di
— $iraj Ha$hmi (@SirajAHashmi) August 1, 2019
Kamala Harris waving goodbye to her chances of being president after Tulsi Gabbard steam rolled her pic.twitter.com/ZsK1kVxPY7
— Ryan Saavedra (@RealSaavedra) August 1, 2019
WATCH: Tulsi Gabbard tears into Kamala Harris' tough-on-crime record as California Attorney General. #DemDebate2 pic.twitter.com/Bw8iFW5wgI
— America Rising (@AmericaRising) August 1, 2019
Gabbard’s clash with Harris carried over into post-debate interview where she again challenged the former federal prosecutor’s record in California:
Senator Harris slammed by Tulsi Gabbard after debate. More from the #DemDebate: https://t.co/dk74nb04g4 pic.twitter.com/Gbw1M3jZVN
— Reuters Top News (@Reuters) August 1, 2019
Tulsi takes down Kamala Harris over her record on criminal justice reform, the death penalty, and the war on drugs -TULSI2020 #DemDebate #Tulsi2020 https://t.co/7XQoiqHThu pic.twitter.com/epf58iQNYI
— Tulsi Gabbard (@TulsiGabbard) August 1, 2019