Former Wyoming Republican Rep. Liz Cheney, now endorsing Vice President Kamala Harris’s presidential campaign, criticized Republicans like Nikki Haley for backing Donald Trump, claiming they were abandoning the Constitution. Cheney stated she couldn’t understand how Haley’s support for Trump could be done “in any kind of principled way.” In response, Haley acknowledged Cheney’s support for Harris but firmly rejected the idea that supporting Trump was “unprincipled.”
“We can either vote based on style, or we can vote on substance,” Haley remarked on Fox News’s Fox and Friends on Monday. “I’m voting based on substance. I’m looking at the fact we can’t live the next four years like we did the last four years. This is no contest. Harris raised taxes. Trump reduced taxes. Harris wants to stop any energy production. Trump built it up. Harris is weak on national security. Trump was strong on national security. Harris has allowed the border to be infiltrated by 8 million people. Trump was much harder on the border. This is about my family, this is about America, these are about issues.”
Haley continued, saying while people may dislike Trump personally, they can’t claim his policies were worse than Harris’s because “that’s just not a fact.”
As for Trump’s ability to broaden his base, Haley emphasized that he needs to appeal to centrist groups like suburban women and “conservative Democrats.” She also noted that she’s on “standby” and ready to assist Trump on the campaign trail if needed.
In anticipation of Tuesday’s debate, Haley predicted both candidates would perform well but cautioned that neither could afford a misstep.
Cheney’s endorsement of Harris also drew criticism from Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders (R-AR), who dismissed Cheney as no longer a conservative or Republican for backing someone as “radical” as Harris. Sanders downplayed Cheney’s endorsement as a “nonfactor” in the race.
On the other side, Democratic strategist James Carville suggested that Cheney’s support, along with that of her father, former Vice President Dick Cheney, could sway some Republican voters to Harris’s side in the upcoming election. While he didn’t foresee a massive shift, Carville noted that the endorsements could still be “very helpful.”
