BTS Tulsi Gabbard + Jackman Radio
"The Democratic Party Has Changed Radically"
I met Eric Jackman last year at a small-town gathering in New Hampshire, one of our first stops on the trail. Our destination was a rustic barn adorned with twinkling lights, old faded flags, and the scent of freshly harvested apples mingling with a potluck set up out front.
The evening was intended to unite and inspire local Kennedy supporters, foster networking opportunities, and strategize grassroots tactics to ensure Bobby’s name gained recognition and secured a place on the ballot in the coming months.
Eric and I stayed in touch after the visit, often trading thoughts, memes, theories, and scoop on various points of campaign fodder. In the recap below, he offers a behind-the-scenes take on his recent interview with Tulsi Gabbard. She sat down with him and his brother to discuss everything from her book to disenfranchised Democrats to rumors of a VP and more.
Hope you enjoy!
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As ‘grass roots’ as it gets at Hackleboro Orchard in Canterbury New Hampshire, Nov 2023
By Eric Jackman
Before RFK Jr. announced Nicole Shanahan as his choice for Vice President on his Independent Presidential ticket, Tulsi Gabbard occupied a unique and fascinating spot in this American political moment. Simultaneously being mentioned and considered as a running mate for both Bobby Kennedy Jr. and presumptive Republican nominee for President, Donald Trump. It has been a fun and interesting evolution to watch play out since first meeting her back in late 2018.
After seeing her speak for the first time at a pre-campaign event in snowy New Hampshire in November of 2018, I knew I had found a compelling, courageous, and worthwhile person to support for President in 2020. From early 2019 through February of 2020, I and many other dedicated supporters crisscrossed the state of New Hampshire to spread Tulsi’s message of peace, ending the forever wars and finding common ground with our fellow citizens. I had the honor of introducing Tulsi at numerous town hall events to packed houses of curious and open-minded New Hampshire Primary voters. Fueled by a sense of intrigue as to why this telegenic millennial member of Congress would forgo surfing off Hawaii’s lush shores to spend time campaigning in the cold New Hampshire winter, I saw crowds and interest begin to grow rapidly.
New Hampshire prides itself on putting presidential candidates through a thorough, sometimes tedious, and quasi-silly vetting process. One which stands on a mix of ceremony and a Yankee infused sense of vanity. At almost 38 years old, I’ve been engaged and active in a total of six New Hampshire Primary campaign seasons. Meeting everyone from John McCain, Joe Biden, Tom Tancredo (Google him) to Crooked Hillary herself. As someone who is addicted to politics and being in the mix of these campaigns, I couldn’t have asked for a better place to be.
With such unique access and a front row seat to a tradition that goes back 100 years, I found starting a podcast and setting up interviews with the candidates, their surrogates and other personalities being a no brainer. Tulsi came on our show Jackman Radio for the first time in early 2019. Part of the NH Primary tradition is seeing candidates speak at small venues like churches, community centers, VFWs, and breweries. Living next door to the best brewery in New Hampshire, my twin brother Mike and I pitched using their space to film sit-down, long form conversations with the candidates. This launched our series “Politics & Pints.”
One of my best friends from college who is a professional videographer and film editor would make the trek up from CT, set up his gear and we’d have cool conversations with the candidates. The only ones who drank beer with us were Joe Sestak and Mark Sanford. Former MA Governor Bill Weld wanted one REAL bad, but we got the sense that if he had one, the rest of his day’s schedule would probably be a wash. The informal setting of a brewery allows candidates to drop pretense. Hanging with two beer-loving townies and shooting the breeze about foreign policy, conspiracies and whether The CIA was involved in killing JFK became a go-to spot for several campaigns.
2016 taught us that the mainstream media’s influence and control of narratives was slipping in a big way, with the rise of Trump and Independent alternative media, the popularity of podcasts began to explode. I feel very blessed and am so grateful for the interesting people I’ve been able to sit down with. So, when I had the opportunity to have Tulsi back on a couple of weeks ago, I jumped at it!
Ahead of the release of her first book on April 30th, Tulsi visited New Hampshire for the first time since the 2022 midterms to speak to a group of Libertarians at their annual Liberty Forum in Nashua, New Hampshire. She was well received and spoke about important issues such as defend the guard legislation, CBDCs, foreign policy and privacy rights. It was awesome seeing her light up a room again like she did so many times during the 2020 primary. Tulsi speaks from the heart and has a compelling personal story to draw from when connecting with the people.
“Did Bobby Ask You To Be His Vice President?”
On Friday March 15th, my brother and I sat down with Gabbard for 30 minutes to catch up, reminisce and learn about her upcoming book. On many people’s minds was whether she was going to be Kennedy’s VP, I asked, and she gave this response. Having spent six months last year working for Bobby’s campaign as his NH coordinator, I’d spoken to him a couple of times about who he wanted for VP and Tulsi was certainly at the top of his list. We of course have now learned that Nicole Shanahan is Kennedy’s running mate. Talk of Tulsi being picked as either Trump’s running mate or tapped for a prominent cabinet post has been heating up over the recent weeks, especially since she made her headlining debut at Mar a Lago for a 917 Society fundraiser.
Tulsi made clear in our conversation that she is certainly open to that possibility and would be honored to serve in a second Trump White House. This may surprise some people, but to those who have been paying close attention and have spent any time with everyday Americans, it is not. The unique blend of people who came together to support Gabbard’s 2020 campaign became known as “Unusual Americans.” A term which I found both endearing and somewhat belittling. Afterall, what is so unusual about wanting to end the wars, heal our nation and look for the good in every person? Trump is brash and not going to change who he is, I believe Tulsi would be a perfect addition to his team and help bring a whole new segment of voters aboard the MAGA train.
We had a lot of fun seeing Tulsi again and I hope you will dig The Apprentice boardroom vibe we were going for. We shot at a corporate building in Nashua, NH called The Trafalgar. The woman who owns the space gave my brother and I a tour of the office suites and lobby which was modeled after Trump Tower in New York. The gold railings, marble floors and layout all copied from Trump’s design. Our host pointed out a giant golden Trumpesque “T” above the elevators, which I laughingly showed Tulsi on our way up to the board room. T for Trump & Tulsi? We’ll have to wait and see.
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I like the guest post and look forward to my world expanding more with new voices.
I didn't know much about Tulsi. I like her demeanor.