Former Rep. Liz Cheney joined Vice President Kamala Harris on the campaign trail in battleground Wisconsin on Thursday to sway Republicans away from former President Donald Trump.
Ms. Cheney urged voters of all backgrounds to support Ms. Harris. She argued that Mr. Trump is a threat to the Constitution because of his role in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack at the U.S. Capitol.
“What Jan. 6 shows us is that there is not an ounce, not an ounce of compassion in Donald Trump,” she told voters. “He is petty, he is vindictive, and he is cruel, and Donald Trump is not fit to lead this good and great nation.”
Ms. Cheney of Wyoming was once a top Republican on the House Select Committee on the Jan. 6 attack, a panel that would ultimately refer Mr. Trump to the Justice Department for criminal prosecution. She also voted to impeach Mr. Trump, a decision that would sink her reelection bid when she lost to the Trump-backed Rep. Harriet Hageman in a tense primary battle in 2022.
Ms. Cheney’s appearance with Ms. Harris marked the first time the former lawmaker and staunch critic of Mr. Trump has campaigned for the Democratic nominee since her endorsement of the Harris-Walz campaign last month. It also comes after her father, former Vice President Dick Cheney, endorsed Ms. Harris.
Ms. Harris and the former president are deadlocked in the swing state, with the polling aggregate Real Clear Polling showing that she holds a lead of less than 1 point against Mr. Trump.
Following Ms. Cheney’s lead, Ms. Harris styled herself as the candidate who would uphold the oath elected officials take to support and defend the Constitution.
“I have never wavered in upholding that oath, and I have always executed it faithfully and without reservation,” she said. “And therein lies the profound difference between Donald Trump and me — he who violated the oath to uphold the Constitution of the United States of America, and make no mistake, he who, if given the chance, would violate it again.”
Prior to her remarks, Ms. Harris met with the group Wisconsin Republicans for Harris. The campaign’s choice of locale for the event was also a pointed decision intended to touch on the history of the GOP.
Indeed, Ms. Harris held her campaign event in Ripon, Wisconsin, which is home to the Little White Schoolhouse where, in 1854, meetings were held that led to the founding and naming of the Republican Party.
The Cheneys are not the only prominent Republicans who have eschewed Mr. Trump to back Ms. Harris. Former Rep. Adam Kinzinger, who also served on Jan. 6 committee, former Georgia Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan, and a handful of former Trump White House officials and aides are supporting Ms. Harris.
The visit to Ripon was not the first time that the Harris campaign has tried to court Republicans by bringing out party members who back the vice president.
At the Democratic National Convention in August, the Harris campaign trotted out several Republicans, including Mr. Kinzinger and Mr. Duncan, to try and persuade any members of the party who had doubts about another Trump White House to vote for Ms. Harris.
Former Sen. Jeff Flake of Arizona became the latest high-profile Republican to back Ms. Harris, writing on X last week that he was choosing to support her because of experiences he had working with the vice president and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz in Congress.
“I know them. I know firsthand of their fine character and love of country,” Mr. Flake said on X. “I would encourage all Republicans who feel this way to do the same.”
• Alex Miller can be reached at amiller@washingtontimes.com.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.