She is an active soldier. She was able to step down from her position in congress to serve as a soldier. She is somebody who often does not follow the current. She speaks up, and has the strength to do that. And i believe she could be a very strong voice in the white house, to be able to become a begin of democracy and decency in the white house. So i am very grateful to the representative and candidate Tulsi Gabbard to join us here. We are very grateful, and we welcome her to be with us today here. [applause] ive been talking in spanish all day. And i am stuck with the language. But the open of appreciation for you being with us here, we want to give you this tshirt. New hampshire, first in the nation. Rep. Gabbard thank you very much. If there is anything you didnt understand what i said, i can explain it to you later. [laughter] rep. Gabbard muchas gracias. Can we give alejandro a round of applause, please . [applause] rep. Gabbard thank you, alejandro, for your kind introduction and your leadership here in hudson county. Is grace here as well . Grace, there you are. Sorry i missed you on the way in. Nice shirt. We will be matching. [laughter] rep. Gabbard thank you both. How many of you were here when we were supposed to be here last time but there was, i was sick. This was right after the debate. Right . I had gotten a bad cough. Some of you had gathered. Raise your hands if you were here for the last one . A couple of you, when i skyped in from atlanta. I think we were in atlanta. Thank you for doing that, and thanks for being able to continue, and thanks to all of you for coming out here tonight. I really appreciate it. I want to say thanks to our host here, josh and his dad ray in the back. Thanks for inviting us and giving us this space to gather together. Justin, part of the team, thank you so much. Ray, thank you for your service to our country in the United States navy. We have an Incredible Group of volunteers who are here today, and there are too many to list by name, but im so proud of the campaign that we have and the peoplepowered campaign we are building. We take no pac money, no lobbyist money. And really, we are fueled and being moved by our volunteers working hard every day. Volunteers, if you can raise and wave your hands. There we go. They are all gathered in the back, working hard. [applause] rep. Gabbard thank you. Im really, really grateful. Its gathering together in spaces like this with people like you across this country that gives me so much hope for our future, for our future, because we are the change. Theres a reason why our Founding Fathers chose those three most important words to begin our constitution, we, the people. Two reasons. So that we the people would never forget the responsibility we have, to be actively engaged and informed and involved in this democracy, but also so that the leaders who we choose to elect never forget who they are supposed to be serving. We, the people. So as we look at the many challenges we face, as we talk through how we want to solve these problems, i think it is most important that we stay focused on what this is all about, who it is really for. Its about every single one of you. It is about your children. It is about your loved ones, your neighbors, your community, our country as a whole. About 161 years ago, Abraham Lincoln gave a speech that was entitled a house divided against itself cannot stand. And during that time, i was just going back and reading about what was surrounding him at that time as he delivered the speech. Many of his colleagues were telling him this was very controversial, this was not a speech you should deliver. But he delivered it, to deliver a warning about how divisive things were then. But i think it speaks very loudly and clearly to us as a country, as we look at the challenges we face today. A house divided against itself cannot stand. And sadly, this is exactly where we are, as a country. Our country is deeply divided. Whether it be based on partisan lines, one group voting for this party or this person, another group voting for a Different Party or different person, or if it is based on racial lines, ethnic, religious, all these Different Things that are unfortunately being used to tear us apart and divide us. When that actually goes counter to the vision that our founders had, for our country, you know . As they were working through a lot of divisions, as they were trying to heal this nation and bridge these divides, recognizing that, as we have very different ideas about how to solve problems, as we come from different places in our own experiences and backgrounds and family stories, that ultimately we are strong when we stand together, when we, every one of us, are firmly rooted in that foundation of our constitution that serves as the bedrock for our country, so that we can remember that our objective really is the same. We are gathered here today, as many people are in different parts of the country, because we care. We care for each other. We care for our country. And we care for the future, our future. Not only for the one that lies before us, but the one that we will leave behind, for those who come after us. And it is this focus and this care that allows us to see past so much of the divisiveness, and instead have the dialogue and the conversation built on this foundation of respect that we really need to have to solve problems, to work sidebyside, to build this brighter future. As alejandro said, to make sure that our country, our white house can once again become a beacon of light, of hope, of opportunity, of respect. These things are so important that we cannot take for granted, and we are the only ones that can make this happen. We are the only ones who can bring about this change. Some critics will come to me and express their cynicism about, is this really possible . I spoke to a College Student not long ago, actually she just graduated from college, and she told me she didnt think it was. That the lines are so deeply drawn in the sand, one side against the other side, that washington is so divided, it is such a hyperpartisan environment that she didnt see how it is possible for us to be able to come together again, because increasingly, year after year, it just keeps getting worse. Who here disagrees with this . You dont think our country is divided . It is. Right, you agree we can fix it. There you go. You disagree with the College Student. Got it. [laughter] rep. Gabbard i was about to try to understand, where are you living . No, no, you are right, though. You are right. This is a conversation i had with her. It made me sad that she had lost all hope that we could come together in the future because of how bad its become. But you are right, and this is what i conveyed to her. Number one, failure is not an option. And this was how Abraham Lincoln closed that speech about a house divided against itself cannot stand. He said, we shall not fail, if we stand firm, we shall not fail. And that we he is talking about is we the people. We are the ones who will bring about this change, both in selecting who we want to see leading our country, leaders who will put service above self, who will put the interest of the American People and our country above all else, leaders who will treat each other with respect, and inspire this positive change within our country at the highest level and within our community. Remembering who we all are, as americans, what it is that connects us. This Common Ground we stand upon in this country, in the United States of america. Now, where i come from in hawaii, we have a word, aloha. It is a word often mistakenly understood to mean hello or goodbye, but it means neither. Somebody said, i was in second grade and my teacher told me that word meant hello and goodbye. Are you telling me she was wrong . I said yeah, unfortunately, she was wrong. [laughter] rep. Gabbard it is a word that we used to greet each other, both in the beginning of conversations and when we are leaving, because of its special and powerful meaning. What aloha really means is i come to you with respect. I come to you with an open heart, with care, with compassion, and seeing each other, seeing you for who we really are, as brother and sister, as family, as children of god, as people who are all connected. And therefore, as we are having conversations and living our lives, our relationships personally and professionally, we are able to see past all of these differences that can sometimes get in the way of real dialogue and conversation. This is something i have done my best to live by in my own life, to lead with, and to bring to washington. We need a lot of aloha in washington. Its something that can and must be applied in a very practical way. So i want to share with you a story of how i did that, in a very practical way. I knew going into washington as a new freshman democrat, elected in 2012, with a Strong Majority of republicans in the house of representatives and a very partisan environment, trying to think, ok, how can i practice this aloha in my work in congress . How can i begin to reach out with respect to my colleagues, start to build these relationships necessary for me to do my job, the job i was hired to do by my constituents in hawaii, to serve them and deliver results for them. It would be easy to just turn my back and say, well, the other team is in charge so i will just hunker down and hang out with my team and just work hard until we get enough seats in congress to win, and then think about how we can get things done. That probably would have been the easier path to take, but it was not the right path to take, because thats not why i ran for congress and not what people and thats not why people voted for me. They voted for me to do a job, to serve them, to work for them, to be their voice in washington. And so i had an idea in how to begin to do this outreach. I called my mother in hawaii, who makes this incredible macadamia nut toffee. I thought, what better way than speaking through the universal language of food, to be able to open some hearts, and begin to establish these relationships. So i asked her if she could make 434 boxes of her toffee. [laughter] rep. Gabbard no big deal, right . She and my dad celebrated 51 years of marriage yesterday. They raised five kids. I know, it is a rare thing these days. [applause] rep. Gabbard my mom thought it was a great idea. She said yeah, i am in. I want to help. I actually have one more favor to ask. For all of the moms here, you know no matter how old your children get, they are always calling home, right . Saying hey mom, i need some help. I asked if she would make another 435 bigger boxes of toffee for the staff of every member of congress. Again, shes an amazing woman. She paused, i think only to start processing how much longer that would take her, how many more pounds of macadamia nuts she would need, but she understood why it was important. She got to work in hawaii, she is stirring both pots at the same time. Chopping the nuts, pouring the toffee. She had my dad assisting her in the job he chose for himself, to be the Quality Control officer. [laughter] rep. Gabbard supervising, taking a slice out of every pan. I not even joking. Amand while they were doing this and wrapping the toffee in hawaii, i was handwriting personal notes to every one of my new colleagues. Going online, looking up information, seeing what their backgrounds were, Getting Better informed about who they are and signing every single one of these notes saying, i look forward to serving with you. The incredible thing, as we began to delivering these little to deliver these little gifts of aloha, how quickly i got a response. On the house floor as we were casting votes, the only time all 435 of us are all in the same room at the same time. That members of congress i normally would not have the opportunity to work with, chairman and women of important committees in congress, started to make the long walk from the republican side to the democrat side, finding me and just saying thank you. Thank you. Many of them saying, i ate all the candy, i need more before i can go home this weekend. And most importantly, what are some issues your constituents are concerned about, what are some things that you are coming here and want to tackle . I am the chair of this or that committee, this is how many years i have been involved in this or that. Lets work together. I want to help. That simple gesture of reaching out with aloha, with respect, without preconditions, without purity tests, without picking and choosing, i will talk and work with this person but not that person. Reaching out with respect to everyone, focused on this mission that we all share together of service, of putting service above self, putting the interest and the wellbeing of the American People ahead of politics, head of profits, ahead ahead of profits, ahead of special interests and corporations. Putting the wellbeing of the people of our country first. And it was because of this outreach, the slaying of a of Foundation Based on respect, that i have been able to be very effective throughout my time in congress. At a time of a strong republican majority, i was able to pass legislation, something a lot of people said was impossible, that i shouldnt even waste my time trying to do from the beginning. That, you know, introducing amendments to some of the larger bills that get through congress, being told, republicans will never support it, dont even try. And the leadership opposing my bill or my amendment. It is because of those relationships i had, i had my phone calls returned. When i am texting colleagues to say, my bill is coming up for a vote, i need your support, they will respond and say, ok, tell me why. Instead of just going along with the party line, which is often what happens in washington. If it is a republican bill, republicans vote for it, democrats vote against it. A democratic bill, democrats vote for it, republicans vote against it. That is the norm, rather than every member of Congress Looking at the substance of each piece of legislation and saying, what are the pros and cons, will this help people or will this hurt people . So instead of just toeing the party line, i was able to have these conversations where my colleagues knew and trusted because of this relationship that i would tell them the truth. I would make my case, but i wasnt going to try to screw them over or set them up for failure. And no, not every single one of them came my way, but on many of these cases i was able to convince enough people, taking making the case based on the substance of my legislation, to support it, because it was the right thing to do. This is the leadership that i will bring as your president and commanderinchief. Reaching across the aisle. Treating every single american with respect. Not seeing one group of americans as part of my team, and the rest as deplorable. Seeing every single american, with respect, and bringing about the kind of leadership that puts your wellbeing and your interests ahead of all else, every single day. As we go on here, we have our volunteers who will pass around some goldwrapped macadamia nut toffee, my moms recipe. [laughter] [applause] rep. Gabbard so you can get a little taste of how my colleagues felt, when i first got elected and the magic of this stuff. It is dangerously addictive. So you have been warned. [laughter] rep. Gabbard but this is what we are talking about on a very practical level, and this is what i shared with that College Student, how we can and must move forward together. And how i will lead as president. Not accepting failure as an option. Being inspired by the example of Abraham Lincoln and so many other leaders who came before us, facing very difficult challenges in divisive times but always leading with love and with care, and compassion, putting the wellbeing and interests of the American People above all else. And theres a lot of different issues that we will tackle, together. As president , i will take on and hold to account big pharma. Those who are perpetrating this Opioid Epidemic across our country. Those who have lied and cheated, and intentionally deceived people, just to make more money. Ruining peoples lives. Taking peoples lives in the process. I have introduced legislation that begins this process, opioid accountability act, that would hold those responsible accountable and would take those fines and the dollars that would come from these cases and earmark them specifically for those survivors of this epidemic, to help them through recovery, to help provide those desperatelyneeded resources to those who are struggling with abuse and addiction, to get the help that they need as they walk this long path towards recovery. I will hold big pharma and big insurance accountable, and take them away from the policymaking table. When you look at so many of the pieces of legislation related to our health care that have come before congress, you see in this pay to play culture in washington how their powered and they are highpowered, high paid highpowered, high paid lobbyists have a tremendous amount of influence over the legislation that affects our everyday lives. I want to take the opportunity to recognize aarp, who is here. I am so grateful that almost every meeting we have, and i know other campaigns as well, there are aarp volunteers with the red shirts and jackets, and i just love the message. I dont know if you wanted to stand up so that people can see you here for a second, and i can give you the mic if you want to say a word or two. [applause] rep. Gabbard thank you. But you see her jacket, it says stop greed. We are everywhere. Rep. Gabbard you are everywhere, a Nonpartisan Organization fighting for people. Exactly. Exactly. It says stop greed. [inaudible] rep. Gabbard exactly. Stop the greed. Your message is so crystal clear, because it cuts to the heart of what is wrong with our entire Health Care System now. Its being driven by greed and profits rather than how to better take care of our people, whether it is our grandparents, our parents, us, our children, at every single age. And so, when we have these conversations in our community about how we can improve health care, the number one thing we have to do is take away the crony capitalism and the greed that has infected this Health Care System that unfortunately really isnt about health at all, really. It is sickcare, right . We are not placing high levels of importance on prevention and wellness, and doing more to be toable more to be able encourage a healthier society and preventing people from getting sick in the first place. So, you, every one of you have my personal commitment that in a gabbard administration, big pharma and big insurance will have no seat at our table as we form policies guaranteeing Quality Health care for every single american, that would allow those who, if you have great private insurance or if your employer is offering one, if you choose to go down that route, you should have that choice. But for the single mom of four who i met earlier today just down the way at cookies cafe, whose son is 25 years old and was born with severe disabilities, and who needs a Lung Transplant, he doesnt know if he can get it because they have to come up with 30,000. Hes on medicare. Hes on medicaid. They will cover just the cost of the surgery itself. But all the other things he needs around the surgery to make sure it it is successful, 35,000. 35,000. So you know, her boss, they have a donation can in the community to chip in, trying to get people together to make sure that this young mans life can be saved. But they dont know if they can raise it. I asked, do you have a gofundme page . Because i would love to spread the word and get more people to chip in. Whether it is 20 or whatever you can. You know what she told me . No, we are not allowed to do that, because if we have a gofundme page, they count those dollars as income and he will lose his apartment and his health care. Apartment, and he will lose his health care. The predicament that this young man is in, and his mother who is so worried sick about his ability to live and be able to breathe properly and get this Lung Transplant points to the corruption and the problem within our Health Care System. People like her and her son and so many families across this country should be able to live with the peace of mind that when you are at that most difficult moment in your life, when you or your loved one needs care that you will be able to get, no matter where you work or what your zip code is or what you are family background is or the color of your skin, none of these things should stand in the way of us as americans living in the wealthiest nation of the world to ensure Quality Health care for every person. [applause] thank you. Thank you. I want to be on to open it up to questions. I want to hear what is on your mind in just a few moments. I will wrap up. Know we will be able to talk about many of the other challenges, whether it is climate change, immigration reform, no justice reform, there are a lot of issues we need to address. I want to close on one issue that is central to all of these other issues, and that is the cost of war. Foreign policy is domestic policy. Very rarely in this president ial campaign or even president ial campaigns in the past do you see a major focus on Foreign Policy, which does not make sense for two big reasons. The most important responsibility the president has is to serve as commanderinchief. I would think as voters you would want to be best informed about who is most qualified to serve as commanderinchief. Decisions thatse are made related to our Foreign Policy have direct impact on every single one of us in our everyday lives, whether you realize it or not. As a soldier in the Army National guard for almost 17 years. I have deployed twice to the middle east. My first deployment in a medical unit, where every single day we were confronted with the terribly high human cost of war. I have served in congress now seven years, going on eight. On the Homeland Security committee, the Armed Services experiencegaining and understanding related to our National Security and Foreign Policy. Actuallyrsthand who benefits most from our countrys longstanding policy of waging regime change wars, toppling dictators, follow on nationbuilding missions. It is not our country that benefits. Our National Security is most often undermined as terrorist groups like isis and al qaeda are strengthened. It is the militaryindustrial complex and a lot of fancy washington consultants who make a lot of money off of this continued policy. Takes a toll on everyone of us as americans because we are the ones who are paying the price. Just in afghanistan alone, right now, we are paying for billion 4 billion aonth month. What are we getting for our money . What are we trying to accomplish . That is 5. 5 million an hour. Our goingon in towards a war and nationbuilding mission that some of the highest leaders in the pentagon, now it has been revealed behind closed doors, they are scratching their heads saying what are we trying to accomplish . What does winning look like . They cannot answer that question. I have long advocated for bringing our troops home from afghanistan to top back stop wasting american taxpayer dollars there and instead redirect those dollars towards serving the needs of our people nationbuilding right here at home. This is the change that i will bring about as president , getting our priorities straight, ending these regime change wars, this nationbuilding mission, this new arms race. Taking care of our veterans and making sure we are redirecting our taxpayer dollars right here at home. We need a commander in chief who will make the right decision to ensure the safety, security, and freedom of the American People and our country. I bring the experience necessary that has prepared me to do that job on day one. Every single one of us pays the price for war. I am not a pacifist. I dont live in a dreamland. I live in the real world where i understand that sometimes war may be necessary to protect and defend the American People, but as commanderinchief, i will lead and maximize all diplomatic measures, building relationships, leading with cooperation rather than conflict, making sure we are sending my brothers and sisters into harms way, that we are sending them on missions that are worthy of their great sacrifice, and that war should always be the last resort. Agree with this leadership that we need in our country, then i want to personally invite every single one of you here to join me, join our campaign, join this Movement Towards this bright future, where we are served by a government that is truly of, by, and for the people. Thank you very much. We will open it up to questions now. Thank you very [applause] thank you very much. We have got a couple of people Walking Around with a microphone. We will start with you. Good afternoon. I have been looking over the chessboard, and it seems that trump won in florida, michigan, pennsylvania, and wisconsin with a minority of the vote. He won by 11,000 votes in michigan while the libertarians got 16 times that number of votes. In michigan . I did not know that. If the libertarians have been allowed , they president ial debate probably would have taken more trump, and the democrats may have wound up winning in those states. If you find an organization that would run president ial debates and allow the libertarians to participate and invite the republicans if they choose or not to, i would like that just because he gets donald trump out , and becausehouse it would allow the libertarians to present their solutions to more voters, and i think you would like that chess move because it would help get you elected. Fair enough. [laughter] thank you. What is your name . I am tom. Thank you, tom. I want to get to the heart of the issue you are raising, which is that we need a fair and impartial system that allows for more than just the two parties to be represented, and that we about voters to be able to hear the voices of those who are seeking to serve our country. I think that the concentration of power that exists within these two parties that is fueled by money does a disservice to the American People in a lot of ways as we see how that exists andf power the negative consequences that come from that. Thank you. Yes, sir. You say everything about Foreign Policy and Everything Else. I am a truck driver. I have been doing that for 34 years. What do you think about the autonomous trucks that are coming out and the whole industry, the Trucking Industry is really falling apart. Thank you. I have grave concerns about what the impacts of this automation revolution will have. I think there is not any one single answer to this. I think there are a lot of safety concerns and other issues related to these changes. It seems like it is a matter of time. I would love to hear more of your thoughts on this. It is not a matter of if but when, and we as a country need to be best prepared to empower those who are in a situation like yourself, those who have not been driving their whole careers, but our deep into that, and their family depends on their income to survive, about what happens next. I dont know if you want to add to that. Because i want to add of the real strict regulations out there and Everything Else that has come out in the last 15 years that really put a damper on the Trucking Industry because the rates have fallen drastically. The rates of what you are being paid . Lets yes. Yes. Me the last time you were in nashua, my buddy john handed you a packet of information. . D you read that i started to read that, and i handed it on to my staff to protect those of you working in this industry. Thank you. I appreciate. We will grab that from you before we go. The work that you are doing to raise more awareness about the , illenges all are facing think this is a big topic. Im not going to claim to have the answer in every respect on this, but one thing that can help those who are making this transition is universal basic income. I think that will help to provide a layer of Economic Security for those like yourself who may be faced with this serious and massive change in your lives about what happens next. How do you transfer the skills to something else, and what other opportunities are going to be available . I have talked to other folks who have been in a similar position, have gone through these things in my home state of hawaii, we spent their entire careers working on this sugar plantation. In the last two years, the very last sugar plantation and our state shutdown. The sugar mill closed. They were given some money for transition assistance. For a lot of them, you can go and get retrained. For someone who is 40 or 50 or 65 years old, what kind of retraining am i going to go do . We have got to get to the reality of the situation and recognize in some ways the inevitability of what is coming, but making sure we are standing up or our brothers and sisters and walking through this process. Thank you. Yes, sir. Good evening. Welcome to hampshire. If i were from hawaii, i would probably rather be there in december. I love my country. That is why i am here. I want to ask a serious question related to your vote on impeachment that took place recently. As most people know, you had a unique vote. You voted present on both articles of impeachment. The question i have for you, if there was incontrovertible evidence of a high crime or misdemeanor, would you have voted yes on those articles of impeachment . Yes. This is part of the problem. Throughout this process, it was and continues to be extremely partisan. This is something that the founders warned against in the federalist papers. Processred that the would result in a conclusion that was based on the strength of one party over another rather than an objective assessment of and that suchuilt an outcome would only further divide our country. This is why i voted present, to take a stand for our country, to take a stand for the people. We can and should defeat donald trump for his multiple wrongdoings and abuses of power and throw him out of office there so that we can come together as a country and move forward together. It is also why i introduced a censure resolution that listed many other areas that were not included in any impeachment articles or even discussed throughout that whole process of decisions that donald trump has made that were clearly unconstitutional and illegal, taking military action, dropping bombs in another country without congressional approval. The towing the war powers resolution in congress to stop saudi arabias genocide in yemen. There are many other areas that should have been discussed but werent. Given the reality of the situation, i do not want to see donald trump further emboldened and strengthened as he will be, as the senate will exonerate trump, proclaim his innocence, and he will take that message across the country, and we are likely to see his support growth as a result of that. By the absence of your yes vote, do you believe there was not incontrovertible evidence . Im saying the process was flawed. The entire process was flawed, which is why i could not vote either yes or no. Drop has donald trump has committed many acts of wrongdoing that i believe have not served the interests of the American People. It is why i am committed to working toim and earn the support of americans across the country so we can remove him from office november 2020. But none rising to the high crime or misdemeanor level. The problem is with the process. That is the issue. If the process itself is flawed, then we are not able to have a clear look at what has he done and what should have or could have been included. That is why i decided to take the vote i did. [applause] take one from the side. Yes, sir. I was wondering if you could elaborate on the things that precede these foreign regime change wars, and that is covert actions taken by our government. A lot of people dont know that in 1949 in syria, the u. S. , and ironically enough the guy who wrote the afghanistan papers in the Washington Post also wrote an article on april 17 2011 about the u. S. Involvement in syria in 2006. I was wondering what your thoughts are on stopping these covert actions to overthrow governments. Thank you for your question. So often the stories we hear in the news about some of these regime change wars, whether they are using military means or covert means through the cia or through this modern day tactic of your current in sanctions to draconianey and overthrow the government, we often dont find out later until as happened with roleand the cias overthrowing the leader. That was something the u. S. People did not know many years later. That is what the issue here is. My position that the u. S. Should not try to play this role of being the police of the world, and we should not be in the business of going and overthrowing dictators that we dont like even when under the guise of humanitarianism because when we look around many parts of the world and throughout history, it has resulted in more suffering and struggles for the people in those countries. It has undermined the interests of our country, whether we are talking about in the recent past, iraq, libya, syria, afghanistan. You can go on and on down the list. You see how there is some hypocrisy there because some dictators, the u. S. Says we need to go and overthrow this evil dictator. There are other dictators in other countries that the u. S. Supports and even calls allies and partners. This is something that i will end as president , this longstanding practice of regime change and nationbuilding and instead focus on these decisions about when and where our military takes action, or our role in engaging with other countries based on what is in the best interest of our National Security and having the foresight to look at what are the consequences down the line of those actions that we are taking, and will they help people in other countries, or will it hurt . That is something that does not happen often enough. Yes, maam, in the back. High. First, i want to say you are amazing. Thank you. My question is about how are you going to deal with foreign ders who do not take women seriously . Yes. That is a good question. This is a question i have dealt with before, obviously not as president or in the political capacity, but during my second to the middle east, i deployed as a platoon leader. One of our platoons missions was to conduct counterterrorism training with the kuwaiti army. As a lieutenant, i had my sergeant, and we brought some of our soldiers. We went to their camp to begin this training, and from the outset i was told, they do not allow women onto their camp. Obviously, i had a mission. I went anyway. The guard at the gate who look at our id cards, he was a little puzzled as he looked at me, but he waved us through. As we went down the line and started meeting the kuwaiti soldiers that we would be training, half of them completely did not acknowledge that i existed at all. They would not shake my hand. It was as though i were invisible to them simply because i am a woman. The way i treated this whole situation was, i get their cultural background and differences and whatever it is where they are coming from, but i knew what my mission was. I let my actions speak louder than anything else. We went. We did this training. We did it a few days away days a week. We showed them how to shoot their firearms. We showed them how to conduct basic counterterrorism tactics, how to clear buildings, how to deal with civil disobedience and riots and all these things. I found as time went on, they as a woman with whatever their preconceived notions were, but as a fellow soldier that they grew to respect because of the experience and leadership i brought to the table. What this resulted in was on Graduation Day when they were done with their training course, they gather together in a room not unlike this, and their commander, who was a very conservative muslim man, he called me up to the front in front of his soldiers and presented me with an award for appreciation for the training i and my soldiers had given to his unit. As we left, there was someone else there who had been working with these guys for a long time. He said, i hope you understand what just happened. What it took for this commander ofrecognize a woman in front his subordinates, and front of his soldiers. Thingat kind of historic that was. Whatever the obstacles are, whoever it is that i am dealing say, it is my practice to my actions in my leadership my actions and my leadership will allow me to overcome the obstacles that others may place before us. People will see that i mean business, and i will not be missiond away from my of representing our country with strength and pride. Thank you. Yes, sir. I have a comment and a question. Foromment was thank you helping to bring down Kamala Harriss campaign. We really dodged a bullet with that one. You emphasized being a uniter in chief, uniting across party lines. I know one of your biggest issues is ending foreign wars and protecting Civil Liberties. I know there are a lot of republicans who agree with that kind of gold. I want to know what your favorite republican has been in congress to work with on that issue . Thank you. That is a good question. I have worked with a lot of my republican colleagues on a lot of different issues. You mentioned Civil Liberties. I worked a lot with former congressman trey gowdy on issues related to Civil Liberties and privacy. , now an with independent, congress can just in a mosh, passed away congressman walter jones on issues related to ending president ial wars, respecting the constitution and the role congress has to be the body that decides whether or not to declare war. I have worked with a republican colleagues in florida, brian mast, also a combat veteran who lost three limbs in his service , making sure that our generation of post9 11 veterans does not have to deal with what hour the anon veterans faced Vietnam Veterans with agent orange and many struggling and suffering with rare cancers and terrible respiratory illnesses because of that exposure. I worked with congressman will hurt. I have worked with a lot of different people in congress finding those areas where we can find agreement and Common Ground and present that united front to the American People and say as divided as things are, we have great opportunities to come together to be able to tackle some of the greatest issues of our time. On those issues where we disagree, we still respect each other and maintain friendship because of that allegation of respect. That foundation of respect. Yes, sir. On robbie. We have i am robbie. We have a problem with politicians, people taking position of power in government, and then they become very rich. I have always wondered how that happens. They dont have 200,000 a year or somewhere around there, and then they become very rich. Would you support Something Like all congressmen and women and senators and president s and their family members to get yearly or every two years, they get audited by independent parties . If Something Like that happened, i think we would see big changes in how politicians push foreign aid to other countries over the homeland. Thank you. This is an important issue. I talked earlier about this page to play culture in washington. Pay to play culture in washington. The revolving door we see between members of congress and senior staffers who work across Different Industries in washington very often will go from spending some time in this Public Service arena, but then leaving and getting big payouts, working in the industries that we are supposed to be emphasizing oversight over, whether it was a committee of jurisdiction for a member of congress or a staffer working for the fcc or fda, go down the list of acronyms, where people go down the list and get a big paycheck from the industry they are supposed to be regulating. Transparency in where members of congress and their spouses are getting their income from. Are they abusing their position of influence and personally financially benefiting from those relationships . We have to go even further. Right now, there is an annual form everyone of us must fill out that is a Financial Disclosure form. You can look it up for every member of congress and their spouse. Where are you getting your income from . What stocks are you investing in. There was a congressman who just because i dont remember the details. The bottom line, he was in a position of power on a committee. Turns out he was a major shareholder in a company. He was encouraging other members of congress to invest in the company and then made decisions in congress that would benefit the company. I think was a pharmaceutical company. I think you know who im talking about. Chris collins, exactly. I think he is being indicted for it now. Making sure that transparency is there and the accountability is important. I dont think members of congress should be allowed to invest in stocks. I dont think they should be in a position where they can personally benefit off of those decisions that are made. Whether you are on the committee of jurisdiction or not, everyone one of us has to vote on bills related to every single sector in our economy directly or indirectly. No one should be in a position of being able to benefit from that. Members of congress should not be allowed to become lobbyists after they leave congress. Senior staffers. Closing this revolving door will the lot to reducing corruption and influence that is being exploited by too many in positions of power that is being exploited for their own financial gain. Do we have any teachers or former teachers here today . Thank you for your service. Teachers, nurses, firefighters, Law Enforcement officers, school counselors, Mental Health professionals. You go down this list, and these are people who choose to serve. They are not getting in this work for the money, did you . There is not much money there. You get into it because you love teaching, and you want to serve, and you want to help our kids. Those who get into Public Service must be in it to serve and not using that as a stepping stone or as a way for them to financially exploit that position of service for their own personal gain. We have time for one more question. Yes. I just learned about you recently. From what i heard, you have my support, but before that i felt like i needed to settle for the other people i know about, the big names like warren and sanders. My question is, how do you plan to stand up against these people that are more like household names . Im counting on you to help me do that. [applause] thank you for your support. Thank you for your question because this is real. Im not as famous as some of the bestknown candidates in the race. I think a lot of the National Polls that people are seeing are more of an indicator of who is most famous and well known ofher than an indication voters having equal amounts of information on every candidate in making their decisions accordingly. I appreciate you taking the time to learn more and coming today. I am grateful to have your support. Our challenge and opportunity as a Grassroots Campaign is we have got to get better known and get the word out to others. What we are finding is the more we are able to do that, the more our support grows. Usingr campaign, we are every platform possible to do that. Where Holding Town Halls like this every single day, going into different communities and reached out. I have seen a couple people who i saw her earlier today in a coffee shop and invited you to come. Thank you for coming. This is where i want to ask every single one of you for help here i want to hand the microphone over to one of our whoedible volunteers, matt, invited about 150 of his closest friends and family to his house, and he is going to share with you some ways that you can join our movement. Thank you, matt. You are welcome. [applause] i recognize one of the people that was at my house. Tulsi does not accept pac money. That means she is counting on people like me and you too spread the word and get her elected as president of the u. S. What can you do . On your seats, you have pledge cards. You cant commit to talking to two people about what you heard today and getting them to watch one of her town halls on youtube or twitter. You can defend her on twitter when someone says something ridiculous about her that does not make any sense to it is true sense. It is true. I love doing it. You can get bumper stickers and lawn signs. If you live on a main road, that is a perfect opportunity to get visibility for tulsi. Town, im driving around see your signs, and i see a couple of pete here and there. I want to rip them out of the ground. I would never do it. I would love to see more tulsi. They are free. They will come and install them for you. You can host a party at your house. You dont have to invite 150 people. I was a little shocked. I have a big house, but it did not look so big when those people were in it. It was good. We had a great conversation and developed friendships. Im honored when she asks me to introduce her to talk about the pledge cards because i am a person who hated politics my whole life. The fact that she has got me involved in drawing me in speaks drawn me innd speaks volumes. There is Something Different about this woman. We need her to be present of the United States. [applause] do what you can to help her. You can turn these pledge cards inin the you can get in the back. You can get a banner. She is here for all of us. Lets get her there. Matt. Ank you, thank you. Election day is right around the corner. How many of you know when it is . February 11. Now you know. It is right around the corner. One of the things i appreciate about New Hampshire voters is that you think for yourself. On the cable news, you will hear all of these Different Things. You will see different polls almost every single day of the week. Everywhere we go, we need voters like yourself that think for yourself. You know the responsibility you have first in the nation as you consider the vote of who you would like to see move forward in this president ial campaign. The seriousness with which you take this responsibility and appreciate your consideration in being here tonight and considering casting your vote for me in this election on february 11. You have those pledge cards. I want to invite every single one of you to join us. If you have made up your mind tonight, please fill out that information. There are ways small and large that you can help spread this message with others. You can if you have not made up your mind tonight, even if you still thinking. I encourage you to share what you have heard, share our conversation with your coworkers or friends and increase this discussion and dialogue within our community as we head into the final stretch of the last five weeks of the primary here in New Hampshire. I want to thank every single one of you for giving me your time. It is the most valuable thing everyone of us has in our lives that you can never get back. Thank you for being here tonight. Thank you so much. Have a wonderful night. Ha. Lo [applause] we will start a picture line coming from the left and going this way. [indistinct conversations] [captions Copyright National cable satellite corp. 2019] [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. Visit ncicap. Org] [indistinct conversation] thanks for coming. Thank you for being here. A good one. Have a good night. Thanks. [indistinct conversation] [indistinct conversation] name. L me your james. I appreciate you coming and for giving me your support. Im glad i can finally find a i can actually like. Thank you, james. [indistinct conversation] how are you . Thanks for being here. [indistinct conversation] even with our challenges, it the best place in the world. Thank you. Thank you. [indistinct conversation] it. Appreciate have a good night. [indistinct conversation] thank you so much. Have a happy new year thank you. Hi. How are you . [indistinct conversation] really appreciate that. And you will have my vote if you get there. You. Ank well, consider voting for me in the primary so we can get there. Will. Thank you. [indistinct conversation] you . W are good to see you. Good to see you. Ive got an hour drive ahead me of, so [indistinct conversation] [indistinct conversation] is the Democratic Party going to stand back up again and [indistinct conversation] justice. Erve to have we dont deserve to be [indistinct conversation] [indistinct conversation] thank you very much. A good one. You too. Year. Safe new thank you very much. [indistinct conversation] how are you . Whats your name . Lee . [indistinct conversation] [indistinct conversation] we watched the debates. That ething [indistinct conversation] i hope you win [laughter] [indistinct conversation] thank you. Travels thank you. Quick . D we take it real sure. Inre going to do a retake one second. One second. [indistinct conversation] give matter what, dont up. Even if you dont [indistinct conversation] thank you. I wont. [indistinct conversation] puerto49 years old, rican. Never voted in my life. Obama. Voted for didnt. But im voting for you. Thank you. Im telling everybody. You. Ank thats what im talking about. I appreciate you. Thank you, brother. [indistinct conversation] thank you very much. This is how we do it. If youre losing ground, dont quit. [indistinct conversation] how are you . Very impressed. Running. For whats your name . Greg. Thank you for being here, greg. Thank you for running. Appreciate it. [indistinct conversation] i really like your ideas. Dragged my wife here. Good. Good. Her d you and [indistinct conversation] is this your wife sitting right here . Yeah. Awesome. Thanks for coming i appreciate it. Have a good night. [indistinct conversation] whats your name . Im natalie. Nice to meet you. Erin. Nice to meet you. Im darian. Hello. You. To meet whats your name . Too . N i give you a hug thank you, tristan awesome guys are family . Yeah. You go. [laughter] [indistinct conversation] saw you guys. Did you like the conversation . Yes. [indistinct conversation] [indistinct conversation] thank you for coming. I appreciate it. Sorry. Just one second. Thank you so much see you. T to [indistinct conversation] its much better. Thank you. We appreciate that you came back. Thank you for having us. Wonderful. Thank you. Appreciate it. [indistinct conversation] come on do it right [laughter] [indistinct conversation] thank you. I appreciate it. Have a good night. You. My name is miranda. Im his granddaughter. He invited me over. I just heard about you. We were, like, this just sounds much needed. Means a lot to me. Thank you both. Nice to meet you. [indistinct conversation] [indistinct conversation] we dont have enough information about, from what ive heard. I think the way china is approaching this situation is not the right answer. You. Ank i appreciate that. Thank you. Thank you very much. You . How are good. Yes. Ill give you one more. Back again tomorrow. [indistinct conversation] [music] how are you doing . Are you . Im good. Thanks for being here tonight. [indistinct conversation] luck. Ha and good thank you. Thank you so much for your service. [indistinct conversation] [indistinct conversation] keep up the positive message. Wish you well. O thank you for your support. Night. Good you too. Im nervous as all hell, way up i came all the here to [indistinct conversation] ok. I will take a look. Ive got a bit of a drive ahead i will take a look. [indistinct conversation] [indistinct conversation] thank you very much. Safe. And thanks for bringing this. Ill take a look at it. Thank you. Hi, tulsi. Im john. All, thank you very much for your military service. Want to thank you for talking about [indistinct conversation] [indistinct conversation] [indistinct conversation] i must admit, especially your military background, and i totally agree with you, im really against [indistinct conversation] its kind of interesting. [indistinct conversation] wouldnt think youd be naive about the military threat to us. Rea poses im not. Theres an issue, every day that [inaudible] but the choice is between a flawed agreement and no a ment and [inaudible] i chose the flawed agreement. Point is choosing the agreement, delaying any ability able to develop or require a Nuclear Weapon and simultaneously working to strengthen and improve [inaudible] goevery single day that we by without the agreement, they are a day closer to developing a weapon. But they are [inaudible] multiple intelligence agencies from many different thetries, even outside of iaea, confirmed that they were developing a Nuclear Weapon in the years since the deal. Was imperfect. The only alternative is war. And the europeans are [inaudible] recognize the problem too. So much. Eminds me [indistinct conversation] safe new year. That t wanted to say [indistinct conversation] thank you. Thank you very much. I appreciate you. Support. R all your thank you. Much. You so [indistinct conversation] powerful man, nick. Im trying. [laughter] keep it up. Thank you. [laughter] [indistinct conversation] hi. Daughter . Ur this is my daughter. Hi she is your biggest fan. [indistinct conversation] so beautiful thank you so much. Thank you, tulsi. [indistinct conversation] how old are you, ella . Elsa. Elsa. Im sorry. Nine. [indistinct conversation] im glad you came tonight. Did you have fun . Very intently. She did. She did. Bunch of yard signs. [laughter] thank you. Thank you very much. [indistinct conversation] [indistinct conversation] [music] [indistinct conversation] campaign 2020. Watch our live coverage of the candidates on the campaign trail and make up your own mind. Cspans campaign 2020, your unfiltered view of politics. Cspans Live Campaign 2020 coverage continues today at 2 00 p. M. Eastern. Former Vice President joe biden in New Hampshire. Eastern, 2 00 p. M. Andrew yang in nashua New Hampshire. Tuesday at 11 00 a. M. Eastern, senator Elizabeth Warren in boston. Watch the president ial candidates live on cspan online at cspan. Org, or listen free on the cspan radio app. Secretary of state mike pompeo hosted an event at the state department on human rights in iran. He announced sanctions and the restricting of visas against iranian officials involved in the abuse and killing of. Eaceful protesters morgan good morning, everyone. Thats nice