Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-HI), the vice chairwoman of the Democratic National Committee, said she was uninvited from the first Democratic presidential debate after she appeared on national television and called for more debates, as reported Monday by The New York Times.
Gabbard appeared on MSNBC last Monday and said that there should be more than the six sanctioned debate for the Democratic hopefuls. A day later, Gabbard said she received an email sent by the chief of staff to Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL) — the chairwoman of the national committee — “about her attendance,” according to New York Times.
An unidentified source told the Times that Gabbard was not uninvited, but that Wasserman Shcultz did not want a “distraction” that could separate the party.
The first Democratic debate, hosted by CNN, is scheduled to take place Tuesday beginning at 8:30 p.m. ET.
Gabbard told the publication that she would watch from Hawaii.