Translation by : Gan Yung Chyan, KUCINTA SETIA
Reporter : Cheng Wen / Editor : Li Lin / https://www.epochtimes.com/b5/24/10/23/n14356608.htm / Image : On 21 October 2024, U.S. Vice President and Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris (front left) and former U.S. Representative Liz Cheney (front right) spoke at an event in Brookfield, Wisconsin . (Kamil Krzaczynski/AFP via Getty Images)
U.S. Vice President and 2024 Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris has met Republicans in three battleground states on 21 October 2024. Former congressman Liz Cheney and Kamala have joined forces to appeal to Republican voters who may be uneasy about former President Trump, trying to persuade them to support Kamala to defeat Trump.
For a close presidential election, a small number of votes may determine the outcome. How did Trump respond to Liz Cheney's move to "poach votes" for Kamala Harris?
Liz Cheney: Harris Harris has a "sincere heart"
Liz Cheney, a Republican from Wyoming and former congressman, is the daughter of former Vice President Dick Cheney. She was once the third-ranking Republican in the House of Representatives. She later cooperated with the Democratic Party in the congressional investigation of Trump. He took responsibility for the Capitol riots on 6 January 2021 and condemned Trump, while drifting away from the Republican Party that increasingly supports Trump. In the 2022 congressional elections, Liz Cheney lost the Republican primary by a large margin to a challenger who supported Trump, which brought her political career to a low point.
At the third event of the day held in Brookfield, Waukesha County, a suburb of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, in the evening of the 21st, Liz Cheney said of Kamala: "We may not agree on every issue but she is someone you can trust.”
The Associated Press reported that Cheney's remarks that day amounted to an extraordinary attempt to welcome Republican voters to support Kamala. However, Cheney himself had described Kamala as a "radical liberal" politician in the past, but now, Cheney said Kamala will "lead this country with a genuine heart."
As a mother of five and a hard-line conservative, Cheney herself is staunchly opposed to abortion in Congress and cheered for the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn federal abortion rights in the summer of 2022, Roe v. Wade.
However, in campaigning for Kamala, Cheney tried to downplay her "anti-abortion" tone, warning that women were not getting the reproductive health care they needed after a major Supreme Court ruling in 2022, and only Kamala can approach this problem with compassion.
"I'm very disturbed, deeply disturbed, by what I'm seeing in many states," she said. "As Vice President [Kamala] said, in some cases, there are women who have died and they were not able to get the medical care they needed, because providers fear criminal liability, which makes me uncomfortable.”
"We are faced with a situation today that I believe is untenable," Cheney added.
At a second event earlier in the day, held in a suburb of Detroit, Michigan, Cheney also noted that some Republicans feared retaliation or even violence if they stood up against Trump. Sitting side by side with Harris, she said: "I just want to remind people that if you are really worried, you can vote with your conscience without saying a word to anyone. There will be millions of people voting on November 5th. Republicans do this."
At the first event of the day in Malvern, Pennsylvania, Liz Cheney praised Kamala as someone who "will defend our Constitution."
"We won't always agree, but I know Vice President Harris will always do what she thinks is right for this country," she said. "She has a genuine heart, and that's why I'm honored to be here and support her in the election.”
Kamala uses Liz Cheney to win over Republican undecided voters
All three counties that Kamala Harris and Liz Cheney visited together on 21 October 2024 - Chester County in Pennsylvania, Oakland County in Michigan and Waukesha County in Wisconsin - In this year's Republican presidential primaries, they were all won by Nikki Haley, the former governor of South Carolina and former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations. Particularly in Waukesha County, Haley still won more than 9,000 primary votes even after dropping out of the race.
Democrats know that a handful of votes here and there can add up to a victory overall. In the 2020 election, Biden's advantage over Trump in Wisconsin was only 20,000 votes. In-person early voting in the state began on Tuesday the 22nd.
With only half a month left before the November 5 election, Kamala is trying to seek the support of every possible voter, including those Republican voters who are dissatisfied or hesitant with Trump.
The Associated Press reported that Kamala Harris believes winning over college-educated suburban voters, who are already leaning toward the Democratic Party, is a path to victory. In addition, Democrats are also trying to persuade hesitant Republicans who are alienated from Trump to cross party lines to push Harris across the finish line of the campaign.
However, CNN reported that Kamala Harris was unable to do this on her own, which is why Liz Cheney is so valuable to her. Liz Cheney still has tremendous credibility among some Republican voters because of her conservative stance. She can help Kamala gently reach out to Republicans and convince those dissident Republican voters to put aside some of their political positions and turn to vote for Kamala.
Earlier this month, Kamala held a rally with Liz Cheney in Ripon, Wisconsin, considered a Republican base.
On 21 October, Kamala Harris and Liz Cheney held three campaign events in Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin. They were surrounded by placards reading "Country Over Party."
The three states, known as "the blue wall" states, are three of seven key battleground states that will determine the outcome of this year's election. Blue wall states have supported Democratic presidential candidates since 1992, with the only exception being the 2016 election when these three states supported Trump.
Kamala's campaign in blue wall states was dominated by town hall rallies with thousands of people listening attentively to her and Cheney's speeches. During these events, she criticized Trump as a cruel person and accused him of dividing the United States.
"He (Trump) tends to encourage us Americans to blame each other. That's not in our best interests. The vast majority of us have far more in common than we have differences," she said.
She also reminded voters that Trump's comments should be taken seriously, saying: "Some people find what he (Trump) says humorous. It's silly, but understand how serious it is."
Kamala warned that Trump is a "person who is easily manipulated by flattery" and that "if Donald Trump were president, (Russian President) Vladimir Putin would be sitting in Kiev (Ukraine)."
At times, both Kamala and Cheney have talked about how Democrats and Republicans can debate their differences without endangering the country's constitutional foundations.
"The strength of our democracy requires a strong two-party system," Kamala said, promising to "invite good ideas from anywhere" and "reduce red tape." She said the United States "should have a healthy two-party system."
"We need to be able to have robust debates on fact-based issues," she said.
Cheney responded: "Imagine that!"
When the host asked Liz Cheney why she was not afraid of Republican backlash for supporting Kamala Harris, Cheney responded: "The response for all of us should not be fear of not taking action, but rather, vote to take him (Trump) get out.”
Kamala responded: "Don't think this is a sick sense of humor and blame it on..., the consequences of him (Trump) winning the White House again are extremely serious."
Trump seizes opportunity to compete for support from Arab voters
Just before Kamala Harris and Liz Cheney jointly appeared at a series of rallies in the Blue Wall State, former President Trump had already launched an attack on the two people earlier on Monday, the 21st. He ridiculed Kamala and portrayed Liz Cheney as a warmonger to attract support from Arab voters.
In a post on his "Truth Social" media platform, Trump called Kamala Harris "the worst vice president in American history" and called Liz Cheney a "war hawk" like her father, Dick Cheney. .
Dick Cheney was President George W Bush's Vice President (term 2001 to 2009). After the 9/11 terrorist attacks in 2001, in retaliation for terrorist attacks on the United States, the George W. Bush administration launched the "Iraq War" in 2003, overthrowing the regime of Saddam Hussein. This war, which did not end completely until 2011, also brought a lot of criticism to George W. Bush and Dick Cheney.
In a social media post on the 21st, Trump accused Dick Cheney of being responsible for the "Iraq War". He said: "This man pushed (Jr.) Bush to absurdly launch a war in the Middle East. He also wanted to fight against everything known to mankind. Every Muslim country is at war." Trump said that Kamala Harris' appearance with Liz Cheney would make Arab voters "very uncomfortable" with her.
"If Harris is elected for another four years, the Middle East will be in war for the next 40 years, and your children will be in war, and maybe even World War III. For President Donald J. Trump's administration. It's something that will never happen," Trump added.
As Republicans, Liz Cheney and her father, 83-year-old former Vice President Dick Cheney, both support Kamala Harris and believe that Trump poses a threat to democracy.
Liz Cheney campaigned for Kamala in suburban counties in Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania to appeal to both suburban voters and Republicans skeptical of supporting Trump's re-election.
However, the Biden-Harris administration's support for Israel in its war with Hamas leaves Democrats facing an uphill battle in winning over pro-Palestinian voters.
Arab voters turned their anger toward Kamala Harris after she replaced Biden as the Democratic presidential nominee. Aside from emphasizing the need for a peace deal, Kamala and Biden did not make any clear concrete changes to their policies.
Kamala briefly met with Arab-American leaders during a campaign stop in Michigan earlier this month to hear their concerns about the ongoing conflict in the Middle East. Michigan is a key battleground state with a large Arab-American population. The state traditionally votes for Democratic presidential candidates, but voted for Trump in 2016.
Trump has repeatedly claimed that if he had been in office, the war between Israel and Hamas would not have broken out. He also pointed out that during the four years of his first presidential term, there was no war in the world.
Trump's vice presidential running mate, Ohio U.S. Senator J.D. Vance, called on Arab voters to vote for Trump despite Trump's clear support for Israel. He believes that whether Jewish Americans or Arab Americans, everyone wants peace, and Trump is the American president who can bring peace.
According to an Arab News/YouGov poll released on 21 October 2024, Trump leads Kamala by 2 percentage points among Arab Americans, 45% to 43%, although these voters also believe that Trump is better than Kamala in securing more support for the current Israeli government.
More voters also believe Trump can resolve the conflict between Israel and Palestine better than Kamala, 39% to 33%.
A similar survey conducted by the Arab American Institute earlier this month showed Trump leading Kamala by a slim margin of 42% to 41% among Arab Americans.
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