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Former vice president and staunch Republican Dick Cheney will vote for Harris over Trump, his daughter says

Dick Cheney served as the vice president under George W. Bush and is largely considered to be one of the most influential VPs in history

Ariana Baio
Friday 06 September 2024 16:01 EDT
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Dick Cheney will vote for Kamala Harris, says daughter Liz

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Dick Cheney, a well-known Republican who served as vice president to George W. Bush, will be voting for Democratic nominee Kamala Harris in November, his daughter said.

“Dick Cheney will be voting for Kamala Harris,” former Representative Liz Cheney told a crowd Friday at the Texas Tribute Festival.

The audience erupted into applause at the unexpected announcement.

Former vice president Dick Cheney is planning on voting for Democratic nominee Kamala Harris in November, despite being a well-known Republican
Former vice president Dick Cheney is planning on voting for Democratic nominee Kamala Harris in November, despite being a well-known Republican (Getty Images)

Dick Cheney, a notorious figure of the Republican Party, now adds his name to the growing list of conservative figures who are abandoning the Republican Party’s nominee Donald Trump.

Liz Cheney, a conservative critic of Trump, said that her father is concerned about the future of democracy under the former president.

“If you think about the moment that we’re in and you think about how serious this moment is, you know my dad believes and he’s said publicly that there’s never been an individual in our country who is as great of a threat to our democracy as Donald Trump is,” Liz Cheney said.

“And that’s the moment that we’re facing."

The Independent has asked the Harris campaign and Trump campaign for comment on Dick Cheney’s decision.

Liz Cheney announced on Thursday she would vote for Harris in the upcoming presidential election because Trump poses a “danger.”

She encouraged her fellow conservatives who may be unsure about voting for Trump again to vote for Harris. Liz Cheney emphasized that they don’t have the “luxury” of not voting or writing in someone else’s name.

Before being voted out of her congressional seat, Liz Cheney was an adamant critic of Trump – especially in the wake of the January 6 attack on the Capitol.

Her father appeared in a campaign advertisement for her in 2022 where he also lambasted Trump for being a “coward” and the greatest “threat to our republic.”

“In our nation’s 246 year history, there has never been an individual who is a greater threat to our republic than Donald Trump,” Cheney said in the ad. “He tried to steal the last election using lies and violence to keep himself in power after the voters had rejected him.”

“He is a coward. A real man wouldn’t lie to his supporters. He lost his election and he lost big. I know it, he knows it and deep down I think most Republicans know it,” Cheney said at the time.

Liz Cheney pictured with her father, former Vice President Dick Cheney, in 2022
Liz Cheney pictured with her father, former Vice President Dick Cheney, in 2022 (AP)

Cheney and his daughter are part of a group of traditionally conservative individuals who refuse to support Trump in the upcoming election.

Last month, more than 200 Republicans who worked in the Bush administrations, for the late Senator John McCain or former Senator Mitt Romney endorsed Harris in an open letter.

They warned that policies laid out in Project 2025, the 900-page document that lays out a blueprint for the next conservative president, as well as Trump’s relationship with dictators like Vladimir Putin, would hurt institutions and people.

Former Trump administration officials, conservative politicians and more have also voiced support for Harris and her running mate Tim Walz come November.

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