By Jeff Mason and Nandita Bose
RIPON, Wisconsin (Reuters) -Former Republican congresswoman Liz Cheney and Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris stated former President Donald Trump will not be match to steer the U.S., urging voters to place nation over celebration as they campaigned collectively on Thursday.
Cheney and her father Dick Cheney, who was vice chairman below George W. Bush and continues to be vilified by Democrats for his bullish protection of the Iraq Warfare, are staunch conservatives and two of essentially the most outstanding Republicans to have endorsed Harris in opposition to Trump within the Nov. 5 election.
Each have sharply criticized Trump, the Republican nominee, calling his refusal to simply accept his 2020 election loss and his position within the Jan. 6, 2021 assault on the U.S. Capitol disqualifying.
“I was a Republican even before Donald Trump started spray tanning,” Cheney joked on the occasion in Wisconsin, describing herself as a Ronald Reagan conservative. “I am proudly casting my vote for Vice President Kamala Harris,” she stated, her first vote ever for a Democrat.
Cheney’s feedback might assist Harris as she tries to court docket Republican and centrist voters in what polls present to be a really tight race with Trump.
To win, Harris must win over Republicans and independents cautious of him with out alienating her base, notably in states like Wisconsin that may swing towards Republican or Democrat and are prone to resolve the election.
Cheney was the highest Republican on the Home of Representatives committee that investigated the Jan. 6 riot, incomes Trump’s disdain and successfully exiling her from the celebration.
“Our republic faces a threat unlike any we have faced before,” Cheney stated, pointing to Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election outcomes.
“What January 6th shows us,” Cheney stated, “is that there is not an ounce, not an ounce, of compassion in Donald Trump. He is petty, he is vindictive and he is cruel. And Donald Trump is not fit to lead this good and great nation.”
On Wednesday, a decide unsealed a 165-page court docket submitting outlining federal prosecutors’ case in opposition to Trump for his try and overturn his 2020 election defeat. Trump has pleaded not responsible to expenses of conspiracy and obstruction.
Cheney stated she and Harris might disagree on some issues however they’re certain collectively by their obligation to the Structure. Harris can be a president “who will defend the rule of law,” Cheney stated.
“She’s working to unite reasonable people from all across the political spectrum,” she stated. “I’m honored to join her in this urgent cause.”
Harris has adopted a center-to-right-leaning stance on a number of points, together with her staunch assist for Israel, a border coverage powerful on migrants and an all-of-the-above vitality technique to hold gas prices low.
Kathy Rubino, 74, a retired nurse practitioner and an impartial on the Wisconsin occasion, stated she plans to vote for Harris and praised Cheney.
“She’s representing who she thinks is best for the country,” Rubino stated. “She stood up for what she believed, and that’s the important thing here.”
Current polling exhibits Harris struggling to achieve traction with Republican voters regardless of getting the general public assist of a whole bunch of former and present Republican officers within the army, nationwide safety and native governments.
Whereas Harris led Trump 47% to 40% amongst all voters in a Sept. 20-23 Reuters/Ipsos ballot, solely 5% of the ballot’s Republican respondents stated they’d again her, a determine near the margin of error. Ten p.c stated they’d vote for one more candidate, didn’t know who they’d vote for or wouldn’t vote.
At Thursday’s occasion, Harris praised Cheney – who opposed same-sex marriage and praised the Supreme Courtroom’s repeal of the best to abortion – for placing her nation above her celebration and referred to as the endorsement a “profound honor.”
“There are many who know it’s wrong and then there are those who have the courage to speak out loudly about it,” Harris stated of Cheney’s criticism of Trump.
Harris repeated her message from the Democratic Conference that she can be a president for all People no matter celebration, and likewise described Trump as unfit to carry the workplace.
The occasion was held in Ripon, Wisconsin at a one-room schoolhouse important to the Republican celebration: it was the location of conferences that led to the celebration’s formation in 1854 and is known as the celebration’s birthplace.
