Former Vice President of the United States and lifelong Republican Dick Cheney has confirmed that he will vote for Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris in the November presidential election.
Cheney, considered an influential figure during the presidency of George W. Bush issued a statement saying that “there had never been an individual who is a greater threat to our republic than Donald Trump,” the current Republican candidate.
His daughter, former Rep. under the Republican party Liz Cheney, previously told an audience in Texas that her father wanted to support the Democratic nominee.
“He [Trump] tried to steal the last election by using lies and violence to keep himself in power after the voters had rejected him,” Cheney said.
“He can never be trusted with power again.”
“As citizens, we all have a duty to put country above partisanship to defend our constitution,” he added. “That is why I will be casting my vote for Vice President Kamala Harris.”
Cheney’s comments were welcomed by the Kamala Harris camp.
“The vice-president is proud to have the support of Vice-President Cheney, and deeply respects his courage to put country over party,” said campaign chair Jen O’Malley Dillon.
Cheney joins a growing list of Republicans who have expressed concern about Donald Trump’s candidacy.
His daughter, Liz Cheney, has already thrown her support behind Vice President Harris.
She served on the House Select Committee investigating the January 6 Capitol riots and was one of the 10 Republicans who voted to impeach former President Trump after the incident.
Ms. Cheney lost her congressional seat in 2022 to a Trump-backed candidate.
Speaking on social media after 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 and senseless wars” – referring to his role in the Iraq war.
Source: BBC News
