“There has never been a person who posed a greater danger to our republic than Donald Trump,” Cheney said on Friday (local time). The traditionally conservative Cheney particularly pointed to Trump’s role in the storming of the Capitol.
Trump attempted to “steal the last election with lies and violence to hold on to power after the voters had rejected him,” Cheney stated regarding Trump, emphasizing that he could never again be entrusted with power. Cheney, who served as Vice President under US President George W. Bush from 2001 to 2009, said he would vote for Harris to “put the country above the party.”
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Cheney was Vice President and close confidant of former President George W. Bush
Current Republican supporters are unlikely to reach Cheney, however. The party has long been completely aligned with Trump. Harris can only hope that more conservative undecided voters can be motivated to not vote for Trump – and preferably to vote for Harris.
Days after daughter Liz
Earlier, Cheney’s daughter, Republican politician and vehement Trump critic Liz Cheney, expressed her support for Democrat Harris. “Because of the danger Donald Trump represents, I will not only not vote for Donald Trump, but I will vote for Kamala Harris,” Liz Cheney said on Wednesday in North Carolina.
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Liz Cheney has been a target of Trump supporters for years
The US Capitol in Washington was stormed by fanatical Trump supporters on January 6, 2021, when Joe Biden’s electoral victory was to be officially confirmed. Prior to that, Trump had incited his supporters in a speech, urging them: “Fight like hell.” Five people died during the violent storming. To this day, Trump has not acknowledged his defeat in the 2020 presidential election.
Liz Cheney took a leading role in the Congressional committee investigating the Capitol storming. Because she criticized Trump and was one of ten Republicans who voted for an impeachment trial, she was no longer supported by him and the party, subsequently losing party primaries.
A whole host of Republicans against Trump
Dick and Liz Cheney join a number of Republican politicians who view presidential candidate Trump as a threat to democracy and thus deny him their support. This includes prominent names such as Senator Mitt Romney, former Vice President Mike Pence, and Trump’s former National Security Advisor John Bolton. Recently, nearly 300 former staffers of Bush and Romney expressed their support for Harris in a joint letter, warning against a Trump election.
Harris’s campaign team announced on Friday the intake of $361 million (approximately €325 million) in donations in August – the highest amount in a month to date and almost three times Trump’s fundraising.
Tension rises ahead of TV debate
The presidential election is set for November 5. Next week, the highly anticipated TV debate between Harris and Trump will take place. The 78-year-old Trump is running for the third time. Currently, polls indicate a close race between Trump and Vice President Harris, especially in the highly contested swing states.