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Liz Cheney decried Donald Trump‘s “depraved cruelty” in a blistering speech that was her first appearance with Vice President Kamala Harris since endorsing her last month.
Noting that she has never voted for a Democrat, Cheney praised Harris for “working to unite reasonable people from across the political spectrum.” The joint appearance, designed to win over Republicans and independents, also was symbolic, as it was held in Ripon, WI, regarded as the birthplace of the GOP.
CNN and MSNBC carried the remarks; Fox News very briefly dipped into the speech.
Cheney, who served as vice chair of the January 6th Commission, cited Trump’s conduct on that day. In her 20-minute remarks, she even cited information about Trump’s conduct that was revealed this week in a filing in Special Counsel Jack Smith’s criminal case against the former president.
According to the filing, when an aide got word that Vice President Mike Pence had to whisked away to a secure location as a mob stormed the Capitol, the aide rushed to Trump, watching the event play out on TV, in an effort to convince him to call off the rioters. According to the filing, when the aide delivered the news of Pence’s safety, Trump looked up at him and said, “So what?”
“Donald Trump was willing to sacrifice our Capitol to allow law enforcement officers to be beaten and brutalized in his name and to violate the law and the Constitution in order to seize power for himself,” Cheney said.
“I don’t care if you are a Democrat or a Republican or an independent, that is depravity, and we must never become numb to it,” she added.
Cheney’s father, former Vice President Dick Cheney, also has endorsed Harris.
The Cheneys have been staunch conservatives — and Liz Cheney cited figures like Ronald Reagan and Charles Krauthammer during her speech. She said of Harris, “We may disagree on some things, but we are bound together by the one thing that matters to us as Americans more than any other, and that is our duty to our Constitution and our belief in the miracle and the blessing of this incredible nation.”
The crowd gathered chanted, “Thank you Liz,” several times, and Harris thanked as “an extraordinary national leader” who “has served with great honor.”
Harris did not cite issues like abortion and healthcare — where she and Cheney may still have disagreement — but instead focused on democracy and foreign policy, particularly on Ukraine.
“Democracy and freedom are not only at stake here at home, they are also at stake around the world,” said Harris, vowing to “strengthen, not abdicate, America’s global leadership.” She cast Trump as willing to force Ukraine to give up its territory as a way of reaching a peace deal with Russia, which invaded the country. “That’s not a plan for peace,” Harris said. “It’s a plan for surrender.”
