DETROIT — Former Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-Hawaii) formally endorsed former President Donald Trump on Monday, praising the Republican nominee’s experience as commander in chief.

Gabbard, a decorated war veteran, made the surprise announcement during Trump’s appearance at a National Guard conference in Detroit, hours after the 45th president attended a ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery with families of some of the 13 service members killed during the failed withdrawal from Afghanistan three years ago.

“She’s a special person,” Trump praised Gabbard, 43, in his introduction. “She has a great common sense, a great spirit. She loves our country and she loves the people in this room.”

The former congresswoman unsuccessfully sought the Democratic nomination for president in 2020, but she officially left the party in 2022.

“I am proud to stand before you today, whether you are a Democrat, Republican or independent,” Gabbard said.

“If you love our country, as I do, if you cherish peace and freedom, as we do, I invite you to join me in doing everything we can to save our country and elect President Donald J. Trump and send him back to the White House to do the hard work of saving our country and serving the people.”

Trump, 78, has tapped Gabbard to help him prepare for a planned Sept. 10 debate against Harris, hoping to replicate the Hawaiian’s performance at the 2019 Democratic primary forum.

During that debate, Gabbard launched a scathing attack on the future vice president’s record as California’s attorney general.

“Senator Harris says she is proud of her record as a prosecutor and that she will be prosecutor-president, but I have deep concerns about that record,” Gabbard said during the July 31, 2019, showdown, which was also held in Detroit.

“There are too many examples to list, but she has put over 1,500 people in jail for marijuana violations and then laughed about it when asked if she had ever smoked marijuana.”

The arrest is said to have caused Harris’ popularity among soft-left politicians to plummet and caused California voters to withdraw from the primary before a single ballot was cast.

On Monday, Gabbard said Trump “understands the great responsibility that a president and commander in chief has for each and every one of our lives, whether you’re a soldier, an airman, a Marine or a Coast Guard, he keeps us in his heart, in the decisions that he makes,” Gabbard said.

“We saw this during his first term as president, when he not only did not start new wars, but took action to de-escalate and prevent wars. He showed the courage we expect from our commander in chief by exhausting all diplomatic measures, having the courage to meet with adversaries, dictators, allies and partners in the pursuit of peace, and viewing war as a last resort.”

Before being elected to Congress in 2012, Gabbard served two tours of duty in the Middle East as a soldier in the Hawaii Army National Guard.