Former Vice President Dick Cheney will vote for Kamala Harris
Former US Vice President and longtime Republican Dick Cheney has confirmed he will vote for Democrat Kamala Harris in November’s presidential election.
Mr Cheney, seen as an influential figure during George W Bush’s presidency, has said there has “never been an individual who is a greater threat to our republic than Donald Trump”, the current Republican nominee.
His daughter, former Republican lawmaker Liz Cheney, had earlier told an audience in Texas that her father planned to support the Democratic candidate.
“He [Trump] “He tried to steal the last election by using lies and violence to keep power after voters rejected him,” Cheney said. “He can never be trusted with power again.”
“As citizens, each of us has an obligation to put country above party to protect our constitution,” he added. “That is why I will be voting for Vice President Kamala Harris.”
Mr. Cheney’s remarks were welcomed by Harris’s camp.
“The vice president is proud to have Vice President Cheney’s endorsement and deeply respects his courage to put country above party,” said campaign chair Jen O’Malley Dillon.
Mr. Cheney is the latest in a growing list of Republicans to express concerns about candidate Donald Trump.
His daughter, Liz Cheney, has expressed her support for Vice President Harris.
She served on the House special committee investigating the January 6 Capitol riot and was one of 10 Republicans who voted to impeach former President Trump after the incident.
Ms Cheney lost her seat in Congress in 2022 to a Trump-backed candidate.
Following Mr Cheney’s statement, Mr Trump took to social media and called the former vice president a “RINO” – an acronym for “Republican in Name Only”.
He also described Mr Cheney as “the king of endless and pointless wars” – a reference to his role in the Iraq War.