/ CBS News
Liz Cheney says she’s voting for Harris
Former Vice President Dick Cheney plans to vote for Vice President Kamala Harris, just like his daughter, former Republican Rep. Liz Cheney.
“In our nation’s 248-year history, there has never been an individual who is a greater threat to our republic than Donald Trump,” Dick Cheney said in a statement Friday. “He tried to steal the last election using lies and violence to keep himself in power after the voters had rejected him. He can never be trusted with power again. 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.”
Harris campaign chair Jen O’Malley Dillon said in a statement that Harris was “proud to have the support of Vice President Cheney, and deeply respects his courage to put country over party.”
On Saturday, former President Donald Trump called Dick Cheney an “irrelevant RINO” – or Republican in Name Only.
“He’s the King of Endless, Nonsensical Wars, wasting Lives and Trillions of Dollars, just like Comrade Kamala Harris,” he wrote on Truth Social. “I am the Peace President, and only I will stop World War III!”
Dick Cheney, a longtime conservative Republican, was vice president under former President George W. Bush and was one of the most influential officials behind the invasion of Iraq and the CIA’s interrogation tactics after the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks.
Liz Cheney first revealed her father’s plans Friday at the Texas Tribune Festival, after saying two days ago that she is backing the Democratic nominee.
“I don’t believe that we have the luxury of writing in candidates’ names, particularly in swing states,” Liz Cheney said Wednesday at Duke University. “As a conservative, as someone who believes in and cares about the Constitution, I have thought deeply about this. And because of the danger that Donald Trump poses, not only am I not voting for Donald Trump, but I will be voting for Kamala Harris.”
In a statement Wednesday, O’Malley Dillon said Harris was “proud to have earned Congresswoman Cheney’s vote.”
Liz Cheney was one of only two Republicans to serve on the House Jan. 6 committee investigating the Capitol assault and Trump’s role in it. The former president has repeatedly blasted Cheney for it, suggesting she and the others on the committee should be jailed.
He continued the same line of attacks on Saturday, saying Liz Cheney “and her Unselects deleted and destroyed all evidence and information – IT’S GONE.”
“Much of it proved that Nancy Pelosi was responsible for J6 – DIDN’T PROVIDE SECURITY. Cheney and the others should be prosecuted for what they did, but Comrade Kamala is even worse!” he added.
The Cheneys aren’t the only Republicans to back Harris. Several Republicans spoke at the Democratic National Convention urging their fellow Republicans to back Harris for the sake of democracy, including former Georgia Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan.
Caitlin Yilek contributed to this report.
Kathryn Watson is a politics reporter for CBS News Digital, based in Washington, D.C.
