GREENSBORO, N.C. >> Tulsi Gabbard, a former Democratic congresswoman from Hawaii who now supports Donald Trump, joined him on stage in Greensboro Tuesday night to announce she is joining the Republican Party.

After walking out to cheers from supporters of the former president, Gabbard said she was joining “the party of the people, the party of equality, the party that was founded to fight and eradicate slavery in this country.” end, and the party is of common sense, and the party led by a president who has the courage and strength to fight for peace.”

Trump introduced her at the end of his nearly two-hour speech, calling her “a woman that everyone loves” and who has “so much common sense.” As Gabbard walked to the stage and the crowd cheered, Trump hugged her and said, “Boy, are you popular!”

Gabbard said the Democratic Party, of which she was a member for more than two decades, is now “completely unrecognizable.”

She sharply criticized Vice President Kamala Harris as an ineffective leader, blasting her for touting the support of former Republican U.S. Rep. Liz Cheney and appearing with her on the campaign trail.

“She’s anti-freedom, she’s pro-censorship, she’s pro-open borders and she’s pro-war,” Gabbard said of Harris. “Without even pretending to care about peace, as President Trump said, she has shamelessly embraced the endorsement and support of warmongers like Dick Cheney and Liz Cheney.”

Gabbard announced just over two years ago, on October 11, 2022, that she would be leaving the Democratic Party and registering as an independent, ABC News reported.

She ran for president in 2020 as a Democrat and ended her campaign in a crowded field supporting Joe Biden for president