“Dick Cheney can be voting for Kamala Harris,” Liz Cheney mentioned, as Leibovich responded with a easy, “Wow.”
Dick Cheney’s endorsement of Harris marks a historic break from his celebration and a agency stance in opposition to Donald Trump, who has change into a polarizing determine inside the GOP.Cheney, as soon as a staunch supporter of conservative values, has been a vocal critic of Trump, significantly since his daughter’s failed re-election marketing campaign in 2022. In a marketing campaign advert for Liz Cheney throughout her bid for a fourth time period in Wyoming, the elder Cheney referred to as Trump a “coward” for making an attempt to “steal the final election utilizing lies and violence.”
The advert did little to sway voters within the deeply pro-Trump state, the place Liz Cheney misplaced her main by a 2-to-1 margin to Trump-backed candidate Harriet Hageman.
Although absent from Friday’s occasion, Dick Cheney, now 83 and coping with ongoing well being points, later confirmed his endorsement of Harris in an announcement, echoing sentiments from his 2022 advert. “He can by no means be trusted with energy once more,” Cheney wrote, referring to Trump. “As residents, we every have an obligation to place nation above partisanship to defend our Structure. That’s the reason I can be casting my vote for Vice President Kamala Harris.”
Regardless of his long-standing ties with Republicans and former friendships with Democrats, Cheney has by no means supported a Democrat for president. Each he and his daughter initially backed Trump in 2016 however started distancing themselves after Trump criticized the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq—conflicts that have been central to Cheney’s tenure as vice chairman beneath George W. Bush.
In the meantime, Trump’s camp remained dismissive of Cheney’s endorsement. When requested for remark, Trump spokesperson Steven Cheung replied, “Who’s Liz Cheney?” — a sarcastic jab underscoring the previous president’s longstanding feud with the Cheneys.
A number of different Republicans have additionally distanced themselves from Trump. Sen. Mitt Romney and former Vice President Mike Pence have each made clear they won’t be voting for Trump within the upcoming election, although neither has endorsed Harris. Romney, who’s retiring from the Senate, has additionally been one of many few inside the GOP nonetheless holding workplace to voice open criticism of Trump.
Because the 2024 election approaches, the Cheney household’s rift with the Republican Get together underscores the deep divides inside the GOP over Trump’s affect, as high-profile figures proceed to interrupt ranks forward of a contentious presidential race.