Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders (R-AR) rebuked former Wyoming Republican Rep. Liz Cheney for endorsing Vice President Kamala Harris in the 2024 presidential race, arguing the former lawmaker is someone who wants to “protect the establishment.”
Cheney gave her endorsement to the Democratic Party’s presidential candidate on Wednesday, warning about “the danger” former President Donald Trump would bring to a second presidential term. Sanders, who endorsed Trump in his 2024 presidential bid last year, argued Cheney and other Republicans supporting Harris are “in the minority,” and that her endorsement is ultimately a “nonfactor.”
“I’m not trying to be rude, but you don’t get to call yourself a conservative or a Republican when you support the most radical nominee that the Democrats have ever put up,” Sanders said on ABC News’s This Week. “That doesn’t make you a conservative. It certainly doesn’t make you a Republican, and I think it makes you somebody who wants to protect the establishment.”
Sanders added that the news that should be the focus is not Cheney’s endorsement of Harris, which she said was unsurprising, but rather Cheney attempting to portray herself as a “conservative Republican” while supporting a candidate who does not represent conservative principles.
The Arkansas governor was then asked if Trump’s proposed tariffs fall under conservative principles, as these could raise taxes on voters. Sanders argued that tariffs are a “tool” Trump uses to have businesses make items in the United States, as the country needs to be self-reliant in creating its own goods.
This Tuesday is the second presidential debate of the 2024 presidential election cycle and the first in which Trump and Harris will debate each other after President Joe Biden bowed out of his reelection bid. Sanders contended that the stakes for this debate are higher for Harris, as she has largely avoided the press in her presidential bid and her policies are still a mystery.
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Beyond receiving Liz Cheney’s support, Harris has also been backed by former Vice President Dick Cheney, who said he would be voting for her because Trump “can never be trusted with power again.” His comment, along with his daughter’s endorsement, received praise from Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), who applauded the two for “their courage in defending democracy.”
One endorsement that neither Harris nor Trump will receive this election cycle, however, is from former President George W. Bush, whose office gave a simple “no” when asked if either he or former first lady Laura Bush would endorse anyone. Bush’s office contended that the former president retired from politics “years ago.”
