Former US Vice President and lifelong Republican Dick Cheney has confirmed that he will vote for Democrat Kamala Harris in the November presidential election.
Mr. Cheney, who was seen as an influential person during the presidency of George W. Bush, issued a statement that “there has never been a person who is a greater threat to our republic than Donald Trump”, the current Republican candidate.
His daughter, former Republican Rep. Liz Cheney, had previously told an audience in Texas that her father planned to support the Democratic nominee.
“He [Trump] “he tried to steal the last election using lies and violence to keep himself in power after the voters rejected him,” said Mr. Cheney.
“As citizens, we all have a duty to put country above partisanship to protect our constitution,” he added. “That’s why I’m going to vote for Vice President Kamala Harris.”
Mr Cheney’s speech was welcomed by the Harris camp.
“The vice president is proud to have the support of Vice President Cheney, and has great respect for his courage to put country over party,” said campaign chair Jen O’Malley Dillon.
Mr Cheney joins a growing list of Republicans who have expressed concern about the election of Donald Trump.
His daughter, Liz Cheney, has already endorsed Harris for Vice President.
He served on the House select committee investigating the January 6 riots at the Capitol, and was one of 10 Republicans who voted to censure former President Trump after the incident.
Mrs. Cheney lost her seat in Congress in 2022 and was elected by a Trump supporter.
Speaking on social media following Mr Cheney’s statement, Trump called the former vice president an “irrelevant RINO” – an acronym that stands for “Republican in name only”.
He also described Mr Cheney as the “King of Endless, Senseless Wars” – referring to his role in the Iraq War.
Source link
