By Kanishka Singh and Steve Holland
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Republican former Vice President Dick Cheney said on Friday he will vote for Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris over Republican former President Donald Trump in the Nov. 5 U.S. elections, following a similar statement made by his daughter Liz Cheney this week.
WHY IT’S IMPORTANT
Trump and Harris are locked in a tight race for the Nov. 5 vote and face off in a debate next week.
Some Republicans upset with Trump’s control over their party and his actions have recently thrown support behind Harris, including dozens of former staffers of former Presidents George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush.
CONTEXT
Dick Cheney served as vice president under Republican President George W. Bush from 2001 till 2009.
He has faced criticism over the years from human rights groups as he played a large role in planning the U.S. wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, which produced a heavy civilian death toll and human rights abuses. In the case of Iraq, the war was based on lies that Baghdad had weapons of mass destruction that were never found.
Republican former congresswoman Liz Cheney, the former vice president’s daughter, has also been a vocal critic of the current Republican presidential candidate, including over the Jan. 6, 2021 storming of the U.S. Capitol by Trump supporters.
KEY QUOTES
Dick Cheney said on Friday that “in our nation’s 248-year history, there has never been an individual who is a greater threat to our republic than Donald Trump.”
He added: “As citizens, we each have a duty to put country above partisanship to defend our Constitution. That is why I will be casting my vote for Vice President Kamala Harris.”
The Harris campaign said on Friday that the Cheneys had joined “a growing movement of Republicans putting country over party” by supporting Harris.
Trump called the Cheneys “irrelevant RINO” in a social media post on Friday, using a term he applies to Republicans not loyal to him, which stands for “Republicans in Name Only.”
(Reporting by Kanishka Singh and Steve HollandEditing by Chris Reese and Sandra Maler)
