Former US Rep Liz Cheney speaks during a conversation with Democratic presidential nominee US Vice President Kamala Harris.
Credit: Reuters Photo
Newark: While Donald Trump was rallying his fervent supporters at Madison Square Garden in New York City on Sunday, Liz Cheney, the Republican former congresswoman, was on the other side of the Hudson River, saying she was “confident” that Kamala Harris would be the next president of the United States.
“We are not cruel, and we aren’t evil and we don’t elect people who are,” she told an enthusiastic audience at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center in Newark.
During the event, billed as “An Afternoon With Liz Cheney,” Cheney fielded questions from anti-Trump Republican George Conway. Cheney, who represented Wyoming, served in the House Republican leadership before she was ousted after vocally opposing Trump. As Harris’ most prominent GOP supporter, she has appeared with her on the campaign trail, serving as a messenger to conservatives, particularly women, in key swing states.
She discussed several of what are considered to be rump’s vulnerabilities — his stance on abortion access, the Jan 6, 2021, riot, rampant election denialism, the decision to select Sen J D Vance as his running mate, his relationship to Russian President Vladimir Putin and some of Trump’s more erratic recent behavior.
When the event concluded, Cheney was given a lengthy standing ovation.
Pat Alexander said she had driven more than 10 hours from Grosse Pointe Farms, Michigan, to hear Cheney speak.
“I really admire her, and I admire how courageous she had to be to take a stand,” said Alexander, a Democrat.
Grace Williams Winkler and her husband, Richard Winkler, who had driven to Newark from Rhode Island, said they were particularly affected by Cheney’s description of the events on Jan 6.
“It was really cathartic to be in the room with her,” said Williams Winkler, a Democrat. “It gives one hope.”
Cheney recalled that during the Capitol riot, Rep Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, put his arm around her and offered to help her and other women evacuate the House chamber.
“Get away from me — you effing did this,” Cheney said she responded.
She also touched on the recent decisions by The Washington Post and the Los Angeles Times not to publish endorsements in the presidential race, which she said were concerning not because of the potential impact on the election, but “because it is all about fear.”
Fear is “a tool that every autocrat uses,” she said.