Former Vice President Dick Cheney, one of the most hardline conservatives in U.S. politics in the 2000s, is voting for Vice President Kamala Harris and the Democratic ticket this fall, his daughter Liz Cheney confirmed in an interview on Friday.
The news caused a stir on social media, as commenters reflected on just what this says about the Republican Party's shift over the years — and how bizarre this news would sound to people not so many years ago.
"Wow!" wrote former Bill Clinton White House aide Keith Boykin. "Never been a fan of Dick Cheney, but this exposes how today’s Republican Party no longer believes in principles of conservatism. It’s just a cult of Trump."
"Dick Cheney was one of the most conservative congressmen and VPs in history," wrote talk radio host Barry Markson. "He sees the threat Trump poses to our democracy and is voting for a Democrat for the first time."
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"Imagine telling yourself in the early oughts that Dick Cheney would one day endorse the Democratic candidate for president because the GOP's 2024 nominee poses an existential threat to American democracy," wrote Democratic consultant D.J. Koessler. "The stakes in this election are truly historic."
This comes as Liz Cheney, a conservative former Wyoming congresswoman who once served as chair of the House Republican Conference, has grown increasingly alienated with her longtime party, joining with Democrats to investigate the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol and growing outspoken against what she sees as former President Donald Trump's threat to the Constitution.