Vice President Kamala Harris was joined by former Republican Rep. Liz Cheney for a series of moderated conversations in the three “blue wall” battleground states on Monday, part of the campaign’s ongoing bid to reach moderate GOP voters turned off by former President Donald Trump.
The pair started the day in Chester County, Pennsylvania for roughly 40-minute conversation moderated by longtime GOP strategist and Trump critic Sarah Longwell before heading to Oakland, Michigan to sit down with former California first lady Maria Shriver. Harris and Cheney rounded out the day in Waukesha County, Wisconsin.
Much of the discussions on Monday centered on the significance of the oath of office and upholding the constitution, a topic Harris said was top of mind for the Republicans who have given her their support.
“This election is presenting — for the first time, probably, in certainly recent history — a very clear choice and difference between the two nominees,” Harris said to her and Trump’s approaches to taking the oath. “And I think that is what, as much as anything, is bringing us, as Americans, together, who are understanding that we cannot, with such fundamental stakes being presented, afford to be mired in ideological differences.”
Cheney argued that the former president has “proven” he will not defend the constitution and rule of law in America, calling his actions on Jan. 6, 2021 when the Capital was attacked by Trump supporters, a “depravity.”
“I know that the most conservative of all conservative principles is being faithful to the Constitution,” Cheney said. “And you have to choose in this race between someone who has been faithful to the Constitution, who will be faithful, and Donald Trump.”
Harris said Cheney was displaying “extraordinary courage” by speaking out and noted she has seen Republicans come up to the former Wyoming congresswoman to thank her for your actions.
Cheney said that speaking out in support of Harris has not been scary but made the point that other Republicans who may want to vote for the vice president but are concerned about safety can do so privately.
“I would just remind people, if you’re at all concerned, you can vote your conscience and not ever have to say a word to anybody,” Cheney said. “And there will be millions of Republicans who do that on Nov. 5.”
Harris and Cheney went to warn about Trump’s impact specifically on national security and America’s place on the world stage, with Cheney referring to Trump as “erratic,” “unstable” and someone who idolizes tyrants.
“Our adversaries know that they can play Donald Trump, they absolutely know that they can play him,” Cheney argued. “And we simply can't afford to take that risk.
The former Wyoming lawmaker spoke about seeing democracies “unravel” in other countries around the world.
“As someone who has seen firsthand how quickly it can happen,” she continued, “that is what's on the ballot.”
Harris in Michigan echoed the argument, saying her GOP opponent “is so clearly able to be manipulated by favor and flattery, including from dictators and autocrats around the world.”
The vice president made the case that Trump would have Ukraine surrender to Russia, telling listeners to “understand what that would mean for America and our standing around the world.”
The former president had said he would be able to negotiate an end to the war as president-elect, before he even officially took office, and recently touted his relationship with both Ukraine and Russia’s leaders, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and President Vladimir Putin.
Expanding on an argument she often makes that her GOP opponent is an “unserious man” despite the potential consequences of a second Trump presidency being “brutally serious,” Harris said some of the things Trump says “will be the subject of skits and laughter and jokes.”
“But words have meaning coming from someone who aspires to stand behind the seal of the president of the United States,” Harris added
One question from an audience member about maternal mortality led to a conversation about the overturning of Roe v. Wade by the Supreme Court in 2022 – a topic Harris and Democrats have looked to put front and center as polls show a majority of voters disagree with the ruling.
Cheney argued she believes the issue is not breaking down party lines, adding what is taking place in states across the country after Roe’s overturning is “not sustainable” and “needs to change.”
Trump on Monday blasted the idea of Harris and Cheney hitting the campaign trail together in a post on his social media site, Truth Social, referring to Cheney as "dumb as a rock."
The campaign sees the counties in which Harris and Cheney are descending Monday in the three “blue wall” states as ideal spots to reach voters turned off by Trump, according to a senior official.
Nikki Haley, who ran against Trump to be the GOP nominee for president and has been seen as more appealing to moderates than the former president, received more than 9,000 votes in the Republican primary elections in Chester and Waukesha counties even after dropping out of the race and nearly 50,000 in Oakland. Each of the three counties also swung further away from Trump in the 2020 election as compared to 2016, according to a Harris campaign official.
The vice president’s campaign has put an emphasis on seeking to reach Republican and moderate voters who may be hesitant to support Trump for another term, including launching an organizing effort called “Republicans for Harris.”
On Monday, the daughter of former Republican president Gerald Ford, Susan Ford Bales, threw her support behind Harris, despite also considering herself a member of the GOP.
Over the last few weeks, Harris has also received the backing of former Trump White House staffer Cassidy Hutchinson, at least 100 GOP national security officials and a group of more than 200 Republicans affiliated with McCain, former President George W. Bush and current Utah Sen. Mitt Romney. McCain's son has also backed Harris and campaigned with her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz.
Cheney first appeared with the vice president on the trail earlier this month at an event in Ripon, Wisconsin, considered the birthplace of the Republican Party. Cheney’s father, a former Republican vice president, has also endorsed Harris.
Last week, Harris was joined by former GOP Rep. Adam Kinzinger and more than 100 other Republicans who are supporting her bid for the White House for a separate campaign event in Pennsylvania.
Kinzinger and Cheney were the two Republicans who served on the House panel that investigated on the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol.