PHILADELPHIA (AP) 鈥 Kamala Harris teamed up with Liz Cheney on Monday to make a bipartisan appeal to Republican voters uneasy about Donald Trump, describing the former president as a malignant force that needs to be removed from American politics.
The Democratic vice president said at an event in the Philadelphia suburbs that Trump 鈥渉as been using the power of the presidency to demean and to divide us鈥 and 鈥減eople are exhausted with that.鈥
鈥淧eople around the world are watching,鈥 Harris said. 鈥淎nd sometimes I do fret a bit about whether we as Americans truly understand how important we are to the world.鈥
Cheney, a former congresswoman from Wyoming, said her background as a conservative means she prioritizes the Constitution over her political party, and she was concerned about allowing a 鈥渢otally erratic, completely unstable鈥 Trump to run foreign policy.
鈥淥ur adversaries know that they can play Donald Trump," she said. "And we cannot afford to take that risk.鈥
Trump has frequently tried to paint Harris, who is from deep blue California, as a radical liberal, but she struck a moderate tone during her appearance with Cheney.
Harris promised to 鈥渋nvite good ideas from wherever they come" and 鈥渃ut red tape," and she said 鈥渢here should be a healthy two party system" in the country.
鈥淲e need to be able to have these good intense debates about issues that are grounded in fact,鈥 Harris said.
鈥淚magine!鈥 Cheney responded.
鈥淟et鈥檚 start there!" Harris said as the audience clapped. "Can you believe that鈥檚 an applause line?鈥
Harris had two more events with Cheney on Monday, all three in counties won by Nikki Haley, the former South Carolina governor and U.S. ambassador to the United Nations who ran against Trump for the Republican nomination.
Their next stop is Oakland County in suburban Detroit and their third is Waukesha County outside of Milwaukee.
With just over two weeks to go before the presidential election and the race a dead heat, the Democratic nominee is looking for support from every possible voter. Her campaign is hoping to persuade those who haven鈥檛 made up their minds, , and pick off voters in areas where support for Trump may be fading.
A few votes here and there could add up to an overall win. In Waukesha County, for example, Haley won more than 9,000 primary votes even after she dropped out of the race. Overall, Wisconsin was decided for President Joe Biden in 2020 by just 20,000 votes. In-person early voting in the state starts Tuesday.
because of her concerns about Trump. She lost her House seat after she co-chaired a congressional committee that investigated the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot. That's broke into the building and bloodied law enforcement in a failed effort to stop the certification of Biden's 2020 presidential win.
Trump lashed out at Cheney on social media on Monday, calling her 鈥渄umb as a rock鈥 and accusing her of being a 鈥渨ar hawk.鈥
Cheney is not the only member of her party to back Harris. More than 100 former Republican officeholders and officials joined Harris last week in Washington Crossing, Pennsylvania, not far from where Gen. George Washington led hundreds of troops across the Delaware River to a major victory in the Revolutionary War.
At a rally there, Cheney told Republican voters that the patriotic choice was to vote for Democrats.
As the election draws near, the vice president has increasingly focused on Trump's lies around the 2020 election and his role in the violent mob's failed efforts. She says Trump is 鈥渦nstable鈥 and 鈥渦nhinged鈥 and would eviscerate democratic norms if given a second White House term.
鈥淚 do believe that Donald Trump is an unserious man,鈥 she says at her rallies, "and the consequences of him ever getting back into the White House are brutally serious.鈥
Trump has been trying to minimize the violent Jan. 6 confrontation as he campaigns, claiming it was "a day of love from the standpoint of the millions.鈥
