Gabbard meets with Trump
Office:?Democrat was not offered job in new administration
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The Associated Press
HONOLULU -- U.S. Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, who represents Maui County, was first on a long list of visitors and potential job seekers at Trump Tower on Monday, but the Hawaii Democrat didn't ask for a position in President-elect Donald
Trump's new administration and she was not offered one, according to her office.
There was no discussion of a job in Trump's administration for Gabbard during the meeting, Gabbard's spokeswoman Erika Tsuji said.
"She loves the job she has, serving the people of Hawaii in Congress," Tsuji said.
Gabbard talked with Trump about legislation she introduced to end "our illegal war to overthrow the Syrian government," Gabbard said in an email sent by Tsuji.
"Every day this war continues, more children are dying and more families are fleeing their homes and becoming refugees," Gabbard said. "I met with President-elect Trump to continue my fight for peace, against the neocons' continued drumbeats calling for an escalation of the war."
Gabbard had said earlier that Trump asked her to meet with him about the United States' policies regarding Syria, the fight against terrorist groups and other foreign policy challenges.
She added: "I felt it important to take the opportunity to meet with the president-elect now before the drumbeats of war that neocons have been beating drag us into an escalation of the war to overthrow the Syrian government-- a war which has already cost hundreds of thousands of lives and forced millions of refugees to flee their homes in search of safety for themselves and their families."
Gabbard, who has frequently criticized President Barack Obama on military issues, had resigned her position as vice chairwoman of the Democratic National Committee to support U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders over Hillary Clinton.
"Where I disagree with President-elect Trump on issues, I will not hesitate to express that disagreement," Gabbard said. "However, I believe we can disagree, even strongly, but still come together on issues that matter to the American people."
Former Hawaii Gov. Neil Abercrombie, a Democrat, said he's pleased that Gabbard's advocacy had been recognized, adding "to the degree and extent that the president-elect, Mr. Trump, is paying attention to what she is saying, to that same degree, I have confidence that he's closer to adopting a policy that will be in the interest of the United States."
Some Hawaii Democrats have questioned why Gabbard has not joined with other members of Hawaii's all-Democrat congressional delegation in criticizing Trump's recent appointment decisions, including Stephen Bannon as his chief of staff.
Bannon joined Trump's campaign as CEO in August after serving as head of Breitbart News, a far-right outlet condemned by critics as racist, sexist and anti-Semitic. Jewish groups and a long list of Democratic leaders have denounced Bannon's hiring and asked Trump to reconsider.
Shay Chan Hodges, a Democrat who ran against Gabbard in the primary election for the 2nd Congressional seat that includes the Neighbor Islands and rural Oahu, found it "very troubling" that the congresswoman would "consider helping to advance the Trump agenda -- not because he's not a Democrat, but because he has made it clear over the last two weeks that he will be pursuing policies that conflict with deeply held Hawaii values.
"It's very clear to me that whether or not Tulsi Gabbard ultimately joins the Trump team, she has shown her true colors," Hodges told The Maui News on Monday. "All of us in Hawaii need to be very vigilant, and we need to be the first to take a stand against any actions that betray the values of the state of Hawaii and the nation."
Gabbard defeated Chan Hodges by a vote of 80,026, or 77.6 percent, to 14,643, 14.2 percent. There were 8,385 blank votes, 8.1 percent.
Democratic state Rep. Angus McKelvey, who represents West Maui and north Kihei, said he's "morally outraged" that Gabbard did not publicly criticize Trump's recent pick of Bannon.
"To be out there espousing what we all believed in and supporting Sanders and to turn around and do this . . . it's a slap in his face, it's a slap in everybody's face that really believes in this as more than words and hyperbole," Mc-Kelvey said.
Tim Vandeveer, chairman of the Democratic Party of Hawaii, said he saw Gabbard's meeting with Trump as positive.
"It's important that we take the opportunity," Vandeveer said. "The reality is, President Trump is going to be in the Oval Office very soon, and that's very troubling to many Democrats, but the reality is, we've still got to have a voice."
* The Maui News contributed to this report.