Former Republican Vice President Dick Cheney to vote for Harris, Liz Cheney says
(WASHINGTON) — Former Vice President Dick Cheney, one of the most prominent Republicans in the last half-century, will be crossing party lines this election and voting for Vice President Kamala Harris, his daughter Liz Cheney said Friday, who contended her father sees former President Donald Trump as a “grave a threat to our democracy.”
The former House member who represented Wyoming told “The Atlantic” reporter Mark Leibovich during an interview at the Texas Tribute Festival that her father believes this is a serious moment in history.
“My dad believes — and he said publicly — that there’s never been an individual in our country who is as grave a threat to our democracy as Donald Trump is, and that’s, that’s the moment that we’re facing,” she said.
Tune in to “This Week” on Sunday, Sept. 8, where co-anchor Jonathan Karl will have an exclusive interview with Liz Cheney.Both Cheneys have been open about their criticism of Trump following the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol by a pro-Trump mob.
Earlier in the week, Liz Cheney said she was going to vote for Harris.
She lost her seat in the 2022 primary to Trump-backed Harriet Hageman by more than 60,000 votes, according to election results.
Cheney made news on another front during her remarks at the festival and said she would support incumbent Texas Sen. Ted Cruz’s Democratic challenger Rep. Colin Allred ahead of November. She said that one of the most important things to do to “rebuild our politics is we need to elect serious people.”
“You know, there aren’t enough good candidates running. I want to say specifically, though, here in Texas, you guys do have a tremendous, serious candidate running for the United States Senate, and his name is …” Cheney began before being interrupted by an applause. “Well, it’s not Ted Cruz.”
“Colin Allred is somebody I served with in the House … When you think about the kind of leaders our country needs, and going to this point about [how] you might not agree on every policy position, but we need people who are going to serve in good faith. We need people who are honorable public servants and and in this race that is Colin Allred, so I’ll be working on his behalf,” she continued.
(WASHINGTON) — Former President Donald Trump participated in another town hall Wednesday where he took several shots at his opponent Vice President Kamala Harris’ record and continued to throw out falsehoods about her and his record in office in front of a friendly crowd in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.
Advisers point to events like this as how Trump is preparing for next week’s ABC News debate in Philadelphia against Vice President Kamala Harris.
The former president, who often downplays the need for formal debate preparations, did offer some insight into how he will approach sharing the debate stage with Harris, saying he would limit his outbursts during an audience Q&A portion of the event which will air later this week.
“When I had Biden, you and I had the same discussion. And I let him talk. I’m gonna let her talk,” Trump told Fox News host Sean Hannity when asked how he will respond to Harris when she tries to get under his skin.
“There are those who say that Biden is smarter than she is. If that’s the case, we have a problem,” Trump said, attacking Harris’ intelligence earlier by claiming she has “no idea what the hell she’s doing.”
“You can go in with all the strategy you want but you have to sort of feel it out as the debate is taking place,” he said, going on to talk about his multiple debate appearances.
“Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the face” Trump quipped, quoting former boxing champion Mike Tyson.
Trump zeroed in on what he characterized as Harris’ policy inconsistencies, something that advisers have encouraged him to focus on. He specifically highlighted her changed position on fracking in front of a crowd in one of the country’s top fossil fuel-producing states.
“She wants no fracking. In Pennsylvania, she wants no fracking. She said it 100 times, there will be no fracking. There will be no fracking. There will be no fracking. Then just recently, she said, ‘Yes, I could approve fracking.’” Trump continued, “Look, this is a woman who is dangerous. I don’t think it’s too smart, let’s see.”
“You can’t take the chance. You have no choice. You’ve got to vote for me, even if you don’t like me,” he said, arguing that Americans didn’t know enough about Harris.
Trump held a town hall in Wisconsin last week with former Democratic congresswoman and presidential candidate Tulsi Gabbard. Gabbard was recently named to Trump’s presidential transition team and has been advising him during his debate preparations.
Wednesday’s town hall, which was taped in the afternoon before airing during Hannity’s regular 9 p.m. ET time slot, comes in lieu of a debate that Fox was attempting to hold Thursday night. While debate invitations were sent to both candidates, only Trump accepted as Harris campaign officials said future debates are contingent on Trump showing up to the ABC News debate next week.
“I think he’s a nice guy,” Trump said, pointing to Hannity. “But I would have preferred a debate.”
The former president and Hannity repeatedly criticized Harris’ lack of interviews as reasons to argue she’s unfit for office, pushing unfounded claims about her interview with CNN last week. However, while Trump sat down with Hannity for longer than Harris’ CNN interview, it was a friendly hour with the conservative TV host who rarely pushed back or pressed Trump on a number of topics.
Trump was asked to detail the differences between his previous presidential campaigns.
“It’s not that different. It’s still about the forgotten man and the forgotten woman. People are being treated horribly in this country,” Trump said.
Trump continued to spread anti-immigrant rhetoric, accusing Venezuelans of “taking over the whole town” in Aurora, Colorado, as he again promised to oversee the largest mass deportation operation in U.S. history.
“Take a look at Aurora. In Colorado, where Venezuelans are taking over the whole town. They’re taking over buildings, the whole town…They’re knocking down doors and occupying apartments of people. The people are petrified. And it’s getting worse and worse,” Trump said, referring to a viral video that appeared to show an armed mob roaming around an apartment complex in Aurora.
However, the Aurora Police Department vehemently denied accusations that the apartment complex is being run by a Venezuelan gang.
“We’ve been talking to the residents here and learning from them to find out what exactly is going on, and there’s definitely a different picture,” Interim Police Chief Interim Heather Morris said in a Facebook video the department posted last week, while adding, “I’m not saying that there’s not gang members that don’t live in this community.”
The City of Aurora also provided clarity on the situation in a post on X, saying while there was a concern about a “small” presence of the Venezuelan gang members in Aurora, the city is taking the situation seriously. The city stressed that Aurora is a “safe community” and that reports of gang members are “isolated to a handful of problem properties alone.”
Trump criticized Harris’ rhetoric after Hannity played a 2016 clip of Harris from a speech at a Los Angeles mosque, in which she urged the public not to use terms such as “radical Islamic terrorism” and “illegal alien.”
“She wants to be politically correct, and we can’t be politically correct,” Trump responded.
“You need a president that’s not going to be taking you into war. We won’t have World War III when I’m elected, but with these clowns, you’re going to end up having world war – it’s going to be a war like no other,” he said.
Hannity briefly mentioned at the top of his program the school shooting earlier in the day in Winder, Georgia, where two students and two teachers were killed and nine people were injured. Trump cited Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orban to tout his record on crime and national security.
“Well, it’s a sick and angry world for a lot of reasons, and we’re going to make it better. We’re going to heal our world. We’re going to get rid of all these wars that are starting all over the place, and we’re going to make it better,” Trump said.
“You know, Victor Orban made a statement. They said, ‘Bring Trump back, and we won’t have any problems.’ He was very strong about that,” he added.
Trump also took time to defend himself and his running mate, Ohio Sen. JD Vance, against Harris’ running mate Gov. Tim Walz’s argument that they’re “weird.” Trump fired back at that sentiment, poking fun at some of Walz’s quirks.
“Something’s weird with that guy. He’s a weird guy. JD is not weird. He’s a solid rock. I happen to be a very solid rock,” said Trump. “We’re not weird. We’re other things, perhaps, but we’re not weird. But he is a weird guy.”
(WASHINGTON) — Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Tulsi Gabbard, two previous Democrats, have joined former President Donald Trump’s transition team, the campaign confirmed to ABC News.
“As President Trump’s broad coalition of supporters and endorsers expands across partisan lines, we are proud that Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Tulsi Gabbard have been added to the Trump/Vance Transition team,” Trump campaign’s senior adviser Brian Hughes told ABC News in a statement.
“We look forward to having their powerful voices on the team as we work to restore America’s greatness,” Hughes continued.
Kennedy, who was until recently Trump’s opponent in the presidential race and a subject of Trump’s name-calling, and Gabbard, the former congresswoman who represented Hawaii and left the Democratic Party after her 2020 presidential run, have both endorsed Trump in the last few days.
It’s not yet clear what roles Kennedy and Gabbard will be playing in the Trump-Vance transition team.
Others leading the transition effort include some of Trump’s family members as well as his major donors, including former U.S. Administrator of the Small Business Administration Linda McMahon, billionaire and Cantor Fitzgerald CEO Howard Lutnick, running mate Sen. JD Vance and sons Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump.
Gabbard joined Trump on the campaign trail in Detroit on Monday where she later endorsed him.
She will also join him and moderate a town hall in La Crosse, Wisconsin, later this week. Gabbard has been helping Trump prepare for his first debate against Vice President Kamala Harris on Sept. 10, the Trump campaign previously told ABC News.
After suspending his campaign on Friday, Kennedy endorsed Trump and said he would remove himself from the ballot in states where his presence could hurt Trump.
The New York Times was first to report the new additions to the transition team.
(WASHINGTON) — Coming off of a brief respite from the campaign trail after a star-studded week in Chicago at the Democratic National Convention, Vice President Kamala Harris and her running mate Gov. Tim Walz are heading to Georgia for a two-day bus tour that ends with Harris holding a solo rally in Savannah on Thursday.
The tour marks the first time the two campaigns will be in the crucial swing state together, with a planned stop for their first sit-down interview since Harris ascended to the top of the ticket with CNN’s chief political correspondent and anchor Dana Bash on Thursday.
The tour’s first stop was at Liberty County High School, where Harris, Walz U.S. Rep. Nikema Williams and state Rep. Al Williams were greeted by the school’s principal and superintendent, before listening in on the school marching band’s practice. In remarks to the band and football players, Harris told them that they were leaders that the country is counting on.
“We wanted to come up just to let you know that our country is counting on you. We’re so proud of you,” she said. “You are showing what hard work can achieve.”
Walz, a former teacher and football coach, told the students that education is a path to the middle class.
“Education is the key to the middle class,” he said. “The pathway to the middle class shouldn’t be burdened with debt given the opportunity to get there. This is truly about building towards the future, and you’re that future.”
The pair later stopped at Sandfly BBQ in Savannah, where Walz chatted with a group of teachers, telling them their job is “noble work.”
Although there is no notable post-convention polling that has been released to date, the campaign saw a bump in donations of $82 million during the week of the DNC, bringing the total haul since launching her candidacy last month to $540 million, her campaign said.
Hoping to build on that momentum, Harris and Walz are scheduled to travel through Georgia’s southeast where they will meet with supporters, small business owners and Georgia voters, according to the campaign. It will be their second bus tour after they previously went on a bus tour through western Pennsylvania before the DNC.
The Harris campaign is looking to sway voters in battleground Georgia — a state President Joe Biden only narrowly won in 2020, beating former President Donald Trump by about 12,000 votes.
Currently, Harris is neck-and-neck with Trump in the polls in the state, according to 538’s average. Trump barely leads in Georgia with 46.6% compared to Harris’ 46%, 538’s polling average shows.
“Campaigning in southern Georgia is critical as it represents a diverse coalition of voters, including rural, suburban, and urban Georgians — with a large proportion of Black voters and working class families,” said Harris-Walz Georgia state director Porsha White in a memo.
This is all in addition to their 35,000 new volunteers, as well as more than 190 Democratic campaign staffers in 24 coordinated offices across the state, officials said.
Through extensive “Get Out the Vote” organizing efforts, Black voters were a huge contributing factor to Biden’s win in a state that former President Barack Obama and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton had all but skipped during their presidential runs.
Harris’ tour is a testament that the campaign still feels like Georgia’s 16 electoral votes are in play.
“We turned Georgia blue for the first time in three decades in 2020, and we’re seizing on the energy and putting in the work to win again in 2024,” White said in the memo.
A Harris spokeswoman told ABC News said that the vice president will make two stops at local small businesses in South Georgia on Thursday, then thank volunteers in Chatham County, before rallying in Savannah late in the afternoon.
Walz, meanwhile, will travel to North Carolina for a “local political event” and a campaign reception.
Following CNN’s interview, Walz will head to Massachusetts for a solo rally on Thursday. Voters will see Harris, Walz and their spouses — second gentleman Doug Emhoff and Gwen Walz, respectively — on the trail again for a Labor Day blitz across several battleground states prior to ABC News’ debate on Sept. 10.