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WHY IT'S IMPORTANT
Trump and Harris are locked in a tight race for the Nov. 5 vote
and face off in a debate next week.
Some Republicans upset with Trump's control over their party and
his actions have recently thrown support behind Harris,
including dozens of former staffers of former Presidents George
H.W. Bush and George W. Bush.
CONTEXT
Dick Cheney served as vice president under Republican President
George W. Bush from 2001 till 2009.
He has faced criticism over the years from human rights groups
as he played a large role in planning the U.S. wars in
Afghanistan and Iraq, which produced a heavy civilian death toll
and human rights abuses. In the case of Iraq, the war was based
on lies that Baghdad had weapons of mass destruction that were
never found.
Republican former congresswoman Liz Cheney, the former vice
president's daughter, has also been a vocal critic of the
current Republican presidential candidate, including over the
Jan. 6, 2021 storming of the U.S. Capitol by Trump supporters.
KEY QUOTES
Dick Cheney said on Friday that "in our nation's 248-year
history, there has never been an individual who is a greater
threat to our republic than Donald Trump."
He added: "As citizens, we each have a duty to put country above
partisanship to defend our Constitution. That is why I will be
casting my vote for Vice President Kamala Harris."
The Harris campaign said on Friday that the Cheneys had joined
"a growing movement of Republicans putting country over party"
by supporting Harris.
Trump called the Cheneys "irrelevant RINO" in a social media
post on Friday, using a term he applies to Republicans not loyal
to him, which stands for "Republicans in Name Only."
(Reporting by Kanishka Singh and Steve HollandEditing by Chris
Reese and Sandra Maler)
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