On Friday, Liz Cheney exposed another prominent “Harris Republican,” telling a Texas crowd that her father, Dick Cheney, would cross party lines to back the Democrat.
The former vice president, once a villain for Democrats amid the Iraq War controversy during the Republican administration of George W. Bush, is not simply sitting on the sidelines but is following his daughter’s advice to back Harris.
“Dick Cheney is voting for Kamala Harris,” the younger Cheney said Friday at the Texas Tribute Festival in Austin.
On Wednesday, the former Wyoming congresswoman was speaking to students at Duke University in North Carolina when she announced she had decided to cross the aisle and vote for Harris.
“Because we’re here in North Carolina, I think it’s crucially important that people recognize not only that what I’ve said about the danger that Trump represents is something that should prevent people from voting for him, but that I don’t think we have the luxury of writing down the names of candidates, particularly in the key states,” Cheney said.
“And as a conservative and as someone who believes and cares about the Constitution, I’ve thought deeply about this and because of the danger that Donald Trump represents, not only am I not going to vote for Donald Trump, I’m going to vote for Kamala Harris.”
His decision was not unexpected, but he made the choice to argue against simple “protest” or stay-at-home votes to counter Trump.
Former Rep. Liz Cheney this week voiced her support for Kamala Harris. On Friday, she said her father Dick Cheney would also vote for the vice president.
On Friday, she said she was not a formal representative of Harris, but would be “very focused on how important it is that we defeat him.” She called for defeating other candidates who have “embraced election denialism.”
He called Democrat Colin Allred a “tremendously serious candidate” and said that doesn’t apply to Republican Sen. Ted Cruz.
“We need people who are willing to serve in good faith,” he said.
The former vice president confirmed his decision in a statement.
“In our nation’s 248-year history, there has never been an individual who poses a greater threat to our republic than Donald Trump. He tried to steal the last election by using lies and violence to stay in power after voters rejected him. He can never be trusted with power again,” Cheney said.
“As citizens, we all have a duty to put country above partisanship to defend our Constitution. That’s why I will be voting for Vice President Kamala Harris.”
The former vice president also cut back on a bet during the 2022 cycle where his daughter lost her seat.
In addition to the same words about the election being stolen, he added: “He’s a coward. A real man wouldn’t lie to his supporters. He lost the election and he lost by a wide margin. I know that. He knows it and deep down I think most Republicans know it.”
Before serving two terms with Bush, Cheney Sr. served as a member of the House Republican leadership and as chief of staff to President Gerald Ford.
Interviewer Mark Leibovich joked that his father was “a beloved figure among Democrats for many, many years” when asked how Dick Cheney would vote.
His response sparked applause in the room.
The former House January 6 Committee member entered Republican politics after her father served two terms as vice president under Republican President George W. Bush.
He made the revelation in an interview at the Texas Tribune festival.
Both Cheneys are former House Republican leaders, and the elder Cheney served two terms as George W. Bush’s Republican vice president.
She was expelled from Congress after losing her Republican primary in the ultra-Republican state of Wyoming to a Trump-backed candidate, current Rep. Harriet Hageman, in 2022.
At the Texas Tribune Festival, Cheney was asked if there had been any discussion about her speaking at the Democratic National Convention, as her Republican colleague on the Jan. 6 committee, former Rep. Adam Kinzinger, had done.
Cheney said she did not appear at the Democratic National Convention because she “wanted to make the announcement, to do it in a way that was not connected to the partisan politics of the moment.”
“I was also in London for the Taylor Swift concert,” Cheney added to cheers.
He ended up making his announcement in a key battleground state that Trump won in 2016 and 2020, and where Trump was campaigning again on Friday afternoon.
He called for keeping “cheating” to a minimum and criticised the case of Stormy Daniels in New York that led to his conviction on 34 charges, saying there was “no case” and calling it a “witch hunt”.