BROOKFIELD, Wis. — Kamala Harris joined Liz Cheney in three battleground states on Monday to issue a bipartisan appeal to Republicans who may be worried about Donald Trump, portraying the former president as a malevolent force who must be excluded from the American politics.
In an election expected to be decided by slim margins, Democrats are trying to persuade enough people to cross the aisle to push Harris across the finish line. It’s a strategy that flies in the face of long-standing political doctrine that candidates must primarily cater to their ideological base, sometimes to the detriment of undecided voters.
But as Trump alienates some Republicans with his election denial and acts increasingly erratically on the campaign trail, Harris is betting there is a path to victory with college-educated suburban voters and who are already drifting towards the Democratic Party.
Cheney, a former congresswoman from Wyoming, said Harris would “lead this country with a true heart.”
“We may not agree on every issue,” she said during the day’s third event in Brookfield, Wisconsin, near Milwaukee. “But he’s someone you can trust.”
Cheney, the daughter of former Vice President Dick Cheney, was essentially exiled from the Republican Party for participating in a congressional investigation into Trump’s involvement in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. She lost her congressional seat in a primary two years ago.
That’s not the only issue Cheney has broken with her party on, as she made clear Monday. Although she considers herself “pro-life,” she believes that restrictions on abortion have gone too far since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade.
“I have been very troubled, deeply troubled by what I have seen happening in so many states,” Cheney said.
Taken in totality, her comments during the day amounted to an extraordinary attempt to roll out the welcome mat for Republican voters to support Harris, a politician Cheney herself once described as a “radical liberal.”
“This is not a normal election,” said Charles Sykes, a conservative commentator who moderated the event in Wisconsin. “Dogs and cats together, in this strange moment.”
Harris, the Democratic vice president, called Trump a cruel character who has exhausted Americans with his divisions.
“It tends to encourage us as Americans to point fingers at each other,” she said. “It’s not in our best interest.” The vast majority of us have much more in common than what separates us.
At times, Harris and Cheney spoke wistfully of a time when Democrats and Republicans could debate their differences without the country’s constitutional foundations being at stake.
“The strength of our democracy requires a strong two-party system,” Harris said.
With just over two weeks until the presidential election, Harris is seeking support from every possible voter. His campaign hopes to simultaneously persuade those who haven’t made up their minds, mobilize any Democrats who are considering not voting, and eliminate Republican voters in areas where support for Trump may be fading.
The three counties visited by Harris and Cheney on Monday – Chester County in Pennsylvania, Oakland County in Michigan and Waukesha County in Wisconsin – were won by Nikki Haley, the former governor of South Carolina and U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations who ran against Trump. for the Republican nomination.
A few votes here and there could add up to an overall victory. In Waukesha County, for example, Haley won by more than 9,000 votes in the primary even after dropping out of the race. Overall, Wisconsin was chosen for President Joe Biden in 2020 by just 20,000 votes. In-person early voting in the state begins Tuesday.
Trump lashed out at Cheney on social media, calling her “dumb as a rock” and accusing her of being a “war hawk.”
Cheney reminded people that “you can vote your conscience and never have to say a word to anyone.”
“There will be millions of Republicans doing this on November 5,” she predicted at the day’s second event in Royal Oak, Michigan, near Detroit.
Harris referenced a report in Bob Woodward’s latest book that Gen. Mark Milley, former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said Trump was “fascist to the core.”
She also said voters should take Trump’s rhetoric seriously rather than dismissing it as a “sick sense of humor.”
“Some people find what he says humorous and it’s just silly,” she said. “But understand how serious this is.”
Monday’s more intimate settings were a change for Harris, whose campaign has primarily focused on rallies bringing together thousands of people. The audience listened intently to her and Cheney, sometimes nodding or smiling. During Harris’ story about a young boy who was afraid of a classroom where there was no closet to hide from a shooter, some eyes filled with tears.
Trump has often tried to portray Harris, a California native, as a radical liberal, but she struck a moderate tone during her appearances with Cheney.
At the day’s first event, in Malvern, Pennsylvania, near Philadelphia, Harris promised to “invite good ideas wherever they come from” and “cut red tape.” She also said “there should be a healthy two-party system” in the country.
“We need to be able to have intense debates about fact-based issues,” Harris said.
“Imagine!” Cheney responded.
“Let’s start there!” » Harris said as the audience applauded. “Can you believe that’s a clap line?”
Megerian reported from Washington.
