Longtime Republican and vocal critic of Donald Trump Liz Cheney is finally diving into the 2024 presidential race.
And to nobody’s surprise, she’s endorsing Trump’s opponent, Vice President Kamala Harris.
Cheney, who co-chaired the House investigation into the Jan. 6, 2021, attack, said yesterday she would support Kamala Harris for president, ending weeks of speculation about how exactly she would embrace the Democratic ticket.
Cheney made her announcement at an event at Duke University. In a video posted on the social media network X, she finished by talking about the “danger” she believed Trump still poses to the country.
“I don’t believe that we have the luxury of writing in candidates’ names, particularly in swing states,” she said. “As a conservative, as someone who believes in and cares about the Constitution, I have thought deeply about this. 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.”
Harris’ campaign chair Jen O’Malley Dillon said in a statement Wednesday night: “The Vice President is proud to have earned Congresswoman Cheney’s vote. She is a patriot who loves this country and puts our democracy and our Constitution first.”
The daughter of former vice president Dick Cheney, Liz Cheney has been Trump’s highest-profile Republican critic.
She joins other Republicans like her former Jan. 6 committee member, former Rep. Adam Kinzinger and former Rep. Denver Riggleman, as backers of Harris. More than 200 alumni of the Bush administration and former Republican presidential campaigns of the late Sen. John McCain and Sen. Mitt Romney also announced their endorsement of Harris last week.
When asked for comment by the Associated Press (AP), Trump campaign spokesperson Steven Cheung responded: “Who is Liz Cheney and what does she do?”
Cheney was ousted in her 2022 Republican primary in Wyoming, but is still a vocal figure amongst those in the Republican Party who oppose Donald Trump.