Former United States Vice President Dick Cheney, a lifelong Republican, has said he will vote for Democratic nominee Kamala Harris in the November 5 presidential election.
“In our nation’s 248-year history, there has never been an individual who is a greater threat to our republic than Donald Trump,” Cheney said of the Republican contender and former US president.
Cheney, who served as vice president under President George W Bush from 2001 to 2009, confirmed his endorsement of Harris in a statement on Friday and said Trump “can never be trusted with power again”.
“He [Trump] tried to steal the last election using lies and violence to keep himself in power after the voters had rejected him,” Cheney said.
“As citizens, we each have a duty to put country above partisanship to defend our Constitution. That is why I will be casting my vote for Vice President Kamala Harris,” he added.
His daughter Liz Cheney, a former Republican member of Congress from Wyoming, endorsed Harris on Wednesday.
Liz Cheney became a fierce critic of Trump after thousands of his supporters stormed the US Capitol on January 6, 2021, in an effort to overturn his election defeat. She co-chaired a congressional investigation into the assault.
Trump responded on his Truth Social platform on Friday by calling the Cheneys “irrelevant RINO”, using a term he applies to Republicans not loyal to him, which stands for “Republicans in Name Only”.
Jen O’Malley Dillon, Harris’s campaign chair, said: “The vice president is proud to have the support of Vice President Cheney, and deeply respects his courage to put country over party.”
Harris herself reacted to the news on Saturday, as she took a break from preparing for the upcoming September 10 presidential debate.
“I’m honoured to have their endorsement,” Harris told reporters as she made an appearance at Penzeys Spices in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
She applauded the Cheneys for their decision. “It’s okay, if not important, to put the country above party.”
Several other top Republicans have come out in support of Harris while some, including Senator Mitt Romney and former Vice President Mike Pence, say they would not be voting for Trump.
