Rep. Tulsi Gabbard officially nominated Sen. Bernie Sanders for President Tuesday at the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia.
She spoke plainly to Sanders’ qualities of character, offering a simple, two-word explanation as to how the Vermont Senator rose to national prominence and became the face of a movement: his aloha.
“On behalf of millions inspired by aloha, determined to seek a future rooted in love, compassion and justice, and dedicated to a government of the people, by the people and for the people, I am honored to nominate Bernie Sanders for President of the United States,” Gabbard said to close her speech.
She went on to encourage the healthy contingent of Sanders supporters present that their voices would not go unheard, that their fight was not over.
“My friends, because this is a movement fueled by love, it can never be stopped or defeated,” she said.
Gabbard resigned from the Democratic National Committee in February, a move that allowed her to publicly endorse Sanders in his run for the White House.
She cited Sanders’ foreign policy positions as considerable factors in her decision, highlighting a fundamental, philosophical rift between Sanders’ and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s approach to foreign relations.
After the roll call vote concluded, Sanders stepped to the microphone and offered a motion that Clinton be awarded the nomination by acclamation.