GOP Trump critic Liz Cheney endorses Harris for president

Republican former Rep. Liz Cheney threw her support behind Vice President Kamala Harris during a Wednesday evening event at Duke University in North Carolina. Cheney served Wyoming as a Republican representative from 2017 to 2023 and is a vocal critic of former President Donald Trump. She was the top Republican on the House panel that investigated the Jan.6 riot at the capitol. In 2021, representatives in the House Republican Conference removed her as conference chairwoman after she was one of nine GOP representatives to vote for the impeachment of Trump. She lost her 2022 reelection bid.

Why did Cheney back Harris? During the event Wednesday, Cheney said she believes that Trump poses a danger to the country. She committed to doing whatever is necessary to ensure he does not win the White House. She joins several other Republican leaders who have backed Harris, including former Illinois Rep. Adam Kinzinger and former Georgia Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan.

How many Democrats have backed Trump? Democratic Texas state Rep. Shawn Thierry last week switched to the GOP and backed Trump. She lost her seat in state legislature during the Democratic primary earlier this year after she sided with Republicans on bills aimed at protecting children from transgender procedures. She joins presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and former Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, D-Hawaii, in supporting the former president.