Former Republican Rep. Liz Cheney said Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump is “not a conservative” and there is “no chance” Ronald Reagan would support Trump in her first sit-down interview since announcing she would vote for Democrat Kamala Harris in November.
“What we hear from Donald Trump, again, on a daily basis, that America is a failing nation, that America is a laughingstock,” Cheney said Sunday in an interview with Jonathan Karl on ABC’s “This Week.”
“The trash-talking of the United States of America very much is part of the message that Donald Trump is pushing, and so at the end of the day, I think it’s important for people to recognize he’s not a conservative.”
Her father, former Vice President Dick Cheney, also will be voting for Harris. It will be her first time voting for a Democrat, Liz Cheney said — and she urged fellow anti-Trump Republicans to do the same in two months.
“Donald Trump doesn’t stand for any of the things that Ronald Reagan did, and it’s another place that I would urge my Republican colleagues both in the Congress, but across the country to really look at Donald Trump’s policies, to really look at the danger that he presents, to look at, you know, what he was willing to do to stay in power,” Cheney said. “It’s a firm rejection not just of traditional Republican policies, but of the constitutional order on which this country depends.”
Cheney bashed Trump’s policies, including a global tariff policy, as not being conservative, and instead an economic policy that could bring the United States toward a depression.
When asked if she was still a Republican, Cheney replied: “I’m a conservative.”
“I’m certainly not a Trump Republican. I’m a conservative,” Cheney said. “I think that what’s happened to the Republican Party today is indefensible, and I hope to be able to rebuild as I said, after this cycle.”
The former Wyoming representative also said she spoke to Harris “in the process” of making her endorsement, but did not provide other details of their conversation. She reiterated she still has major policy disagreements with Harris and the current Biden administration — but she has “never viewed this as a policy election.”
Cheney, who served as the vice chair of the Jan. 6 select committee, said that other anti-Trump conservatives — such as people like Utah Sen. Mitt Romney and former Vice President Mike Pence — should take the extra step in voting for Harris over Trump.
“I would say given the closeness of this election, particularly if you are going to find yourself voting in a swing state, you’ve got to take the extra step,” Cheney said. “If you really do recognize the threat that Donald Trump poses, then it’s not enough to simply say I’m not going to vote for him.”
She added that “it’s a secret ballot” and while she wishes that people would make their decision more public, she would expect more Republicans to wrestle with their conscience and “make the right decision” at the voting booth.
As for former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley — who ran against Trump in the primaries but now supports the former president — Cheney said she “can’t understand her position on this in any kind of a principled way.” Cheney also criticized Trump’s running mate, Ohio Sen. JD Vance, for saying he would not certify the 2020 election results.
“It is hard to imagine a much graver danger than a president and a vice president who will put themselves above the Constitution,” Cheney said. She added that people need to look at how Trump and his lawyers are attempting to suppress evidence for his role in Jan. 6 “at every moment.”
“It is up to us, the voters, to hold him accountable in November,” Cheney said. “Not to re-elect someone who did what he did.”
Speaking on ABC’s “This Week,” Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders said that Cheney had abandoned her conservative principles.
“I do think she actually is significantly in the minority here,” she said on ABC’s “This Week.” “You look across the board, prominent Republicans are supporting President Trump, but ultimately, I think she’s a non-factor. I’m not trying to be rude, but you don’t get to call yourself a conservative or a Republican when you support the most radical nominee that the Democrats have ever put up.”
CORRECTION: Liz Cheney said she spoke to Kamala Harris “in the process” of making her endorsement.
