As I have written before with regard to President Trump, very few people in life possess that all elusive “It" factor. You either have it or you don’t. Trump has it in spades. You can’t buy it, manufacture it, or copy it. It’s either part of your DNA or it’s not. But if it is, the cache t can prove priceless. One of its powers is the ability to open eyes, shape minds, shift policy and create a following. That said, the many benefits of having that “It" factor can be wasted if it is not backed up with intelligence, real-world experience, original thinking, certitude and the ability to recognize opportunity. Again, Trump is lacking in none of those areas, which is why he is getting more accomplished in his first two months in office than any other president in American history. One of his accomplishments is the strength and diversity of his Cabinet. While many in the media (and all on the left) would deny it, Trump has assembled a very impressive “America First” Cabinet. But, when it comes to that “It" factor, there may be two who stand out: Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard and Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Both are game-changers on multiple levels, but it is Gabbard I want to focus on here. She is the eighth Senate-confirmed and first female combat veteran to be the director of national intelligence. If one takes even a cursory look at Gabbard’s background, one will quickly discover that it contains a great deal of “firsts.” At the age of 21, Gabbard became the youngest woman ever elected as a U.S. state representative and of course the youngest in the history of Hawaii. When elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 2012, she became the first Samoan American and first Hindu elected to Congress. Come 2019, when Gabbard chose to run for president, she became the first female combat veteran to run for the office. Back in 2003, Gabbard felt it was her patriotic duty to join the Army National Guard. In 2004, she was deployed to Iraq. And speaking of that “real world” experience, it should be noted that Gabbard still serves in the National Guard to this day — hence her revulsion at useless wars and the elites anxious to send our young men and women to fight and die in them. Back when the Democratic Party was sane and spoke out for the rights of the disenfranchised, the poor and women, Gabbard’s real-life experiences and accomplishments would have been heralded by the Democratic leadership. And for one brief moment in time, they were. Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) selected Gabbard to speak at the 2012 Democratic National Convention, where she was introduced as “an emerging star.” But then, for the Democratic leadership, the unthinkable happened. That young, impressive Democratic woman began to think for herself. Cue the panic and smears of Gabbard by the Democrats. As Gabbard quickly learned, the Democratic leadership truly only cared about women and their rights if those women bent to the accepted narrative and got in line. As Gabbard has proven her entire career, she has never been one to “get in line.” She is an original thinker who rightfully questions the narratives put forth by the elites, be they about COVID, the Middle East, Ukraine or the blatant bias in the mainstream media favoring the left. When she was a Democrat and proved herself a pesky “original thinker,” the party and the media were content with dismissing her or even smearing her character. But since she became a Republican, endorsed Trump, and now leads the Office of National Intelligence, many on the left truly fear her. Why? It comes back to Gabbard’s “It Factor,” combined with her current position. For decades, the minority, poor and disenfranchised communities have been ignored or taken for granted by the entrenched elites. Those elites condescendingly dismiss the reality that those communities are just as interested in the national security of our nation as anyone else is. More so, in many cases — as a woman of color and combat veteran like Gabbard knows — because it is often young men and women from those communities serving on the front lines of our armed forces. The Democratic leadership and the left realize that those often ignored communities represent the largest voting bloc in the nation. More than that, they know that millions within those communities see themselves reflected in Gabbard, her struggles, her decisions, her successes and the rhetorical attacks launched against her because she dared to be an original thinker. Because of Gabbard’s current platform, the left fears that she will reach out to those communities to not only explain why the national security of our nation is so critically important to them and their families, but why they should be part of the mission. Gabbard’s life story is beyond inspirational. She thought and fought every inch of the way. No one gave her a thing. Because of that, she knows that for the Trump administration to get respect from those communities, they have to give respect to those communities. Gabbard may prove to be the most historic and transformational director of National Intelligence ever. She has been given a blank canvas, and her life experiences have taught her how to speak for the voiceless. The left fears her future. Douglas MacKinnon is a former White House and Pentagon official. ...read more read less