Event organizer Joni Bryan told The Epoch Times she is happy that the program supporting her Constitution-awareness group, the 917 Society, is getting more exposure. The group is named after Constitution Day, Sept. 17.

But—spoiler alert—Ms. Bryan asserts: the former Hawaii congresswoman's March 7 appearance at the ritzy resort in Palm Beach, Florida, is unrelated to President Trump's big announcement involving Ms. Gabbard and others.

On Feb. 20, President Trump, the frontrunner for the Republican presidential nomination, revealed at a Fox News town hall in Greenville, S.C., that Ms. Gabbard, a former Democrat, had made his "short list" of possible running mates.

Long before that revelation, Ms. Bryan had been in contact with Ms. Gabbard about serving as a guest speaker for the group's annual gala.

Online, some people have suggested that, by appearing at Mar-a-Lago, Ms. Gabbard was becoming more directly aligned with President Trump's "Make America Great Again" (MAGA) movement.

That may or may not be the case, Ms. Bryan said, adding, "We want every American to be proud of the Constitution. That's not a MAGA thing. That's an American thing."

Personal Meeting With 45

Ms. Gabbard made an unsuccessful run for president in 2020 as a Democrat, when former Vice President Joe Biden became her party's nominee. He went on to be declared the victor of the matchup with President Trump, an outcome that many dispute to this day.

In 2022, Ms. Gabbard quit the Democratic Party because she was fed up with its increasingly radical, "woke" ideology. In recent months, Ms. Gabbard has been critical of Democrats' various attempts to keep President Trump off the 2024 general election ballot.