Danica Patrick pulls back the curtain on her 'Red Pill' moment in conversation with Riley Gaines

Danica Patrick revealed her 'Red Pill' moment, which led to her political awakening amid the 2024 presidential elections. She explained that she went from actively avoiding the news to essentially campaigning for Republican candidate Tulsi Gabbard by the end of the election because she had found her 'truth'.

While in conversation with former athlete and political activist Riley Gaines, Danica Patrick explained that the moment of her ideological and political awakening first came when she attended Charlie Kirk's AmFest event in December 2023. She felt that she was 'in her truth' after hearing the likes of Tucker Carlson and Tulsi Gabbard at the event.

The former IndyCar star explained that one thing led to another, and she kept on going with the flow, which basically meant that she had unofficially entered politics by the time the Presidential Election came around in 2024. When asked how she got into the whole Republican scene by Gaines in a video that was titled "Danica Patrick's Red Pill Moment", she explained:

"It was only a little over a year ago that I went to my first ever political event, which was AmFest here in Phoenix, Charlie Kirk's big event. I mean at that point in time, hopefully without people judging, I didn't know who Charlie was. Like I had never paid attention to politics, and in fact, quite specifically avoided the news and had since like 2018. So after going to that event, I posted some photos of my sister and I, and it just said that 'I love this country' and it was a divisive comment to so many and grabbed a lot of attention, which was ridiculous." [via Outkick Sports]

"And then I finally met Tucker Carlson when he was there because he was one of the speakers and I quickly went on his show. And came back and Charlie reached out and then I went on Charlie's show and I was like, 'well, I guess I am in politics now.'" she further added.

Danica Patrick has been a pro-Republican voice since before the elections in late 2024 and has supported almost every policy decision and cabinet nomination made by President Donald Trump. One of the nominees that she supported was Tulsi Gabbard, who subsequently became the Director of National Intelligence.

In the conversation with Gaines, Patrick explained how she first met Gabbard and became friends with her.

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Danica Patrick shares her first interaction with Tulsi Gabbard and how the pair have become friends now

Danica Patrick at the Turning Point Inaugural-Eve Ball at Washington, D.C. - January 2025 - Source: Getty

Danica Patrick also explained that one of the biggest reasons she got involved in the Republican campaign in 2024 was Tulsi Gabbard. She also revealed how the pair have become friends now, as the former IndyCar driver even campaigned for the Republican politician.

While in conversation with Riley Gaines, the 42-year-old also explained that she reached out to Tulsi Gabbard to praise her for the speech she gave at the AmFest event in 2023, and that led to the two becoming friends very quickly. She said:

"One of the other people I reached out to that was a pivotal character in my involvement within the campaign especially, was Tulsi Gabbard."

"I sent her a message afterwards and said, 'So impressed, I'm cheering for you', and we just kind of had a little love fest for a second and then she had her book come out: ''For Love of Country', and so in the springtime I interviewed her and we had just become friends," she added.

Patrick explained how this then led to her moderating a rally for Gabbard and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and even JD Vance later on. Attending and moderating these events threw her into the political realm, according to the one-time IndyCar race winner.