Kamala Harris praised former Vice President Dick Cheney on Thursday while campaigning with his daughter in Wisconsin.
“I also want to thank your father, Vice President Dick Cheney, for his support and what he has done to serve our country,” Harris said, also thanking his daughter Liz for giving a speech for Harris.
While Harris’ embrace of former Republican Congresswoman Liz Cheney may have been difficult for some Democrats to swallow, it was the praise for her father that seemed a step too far for many Democrats and media commentators.
“Dick Cheney not only committed war crimes and helped kill hundreds of thousands of Iraqis, but he also caused the deaths of thousands of American soldiers.” wrote journalist Mehdi Hasan.
“They should send Liz Cheney to Michigan to campaign for Kamala in Dearborn and Detroit,” wrote journalist Glenn Greenwald.
“She can explain why she and her father still support Guantanamo, CIA black sites, torture, renditions, drones and the war in Iraq.”
Vice President and Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris is eloping with former U.S. Rep. Liz Cheney
“Yeah, imagine how much worse off we’d be without Dick Cheney’s service,” wrote right-wing podcaster Saagar Enjeti sarcastically.
President Joe Biden also praised Dick Cheney on Friday after watching Cheney and Harris campaign together.
‘I know her father. … We argue like hell, but I have always admired his courage and honesty,” Biden said, adding, “She and her father have character. Damn character is what we need in this country!’
But many left-wing Americans thought differently.
‘We better win if we have to put up with this s***’ wrote TV writer Ben Siemon.
“If you had to pick one of the worst men of the 21st century, it would be hard to beat Dick Cheney. People can do what they want, but I will never vote for this’ wrote podcaster Sean Padraig McCarthy
Democratic presidential candidate and U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris speaks as former Congresswoman Liz Cheney (R-WY) looks on
Vice President Dick Cheney, Vice President-elect Joe Biden, and his son Hunter Biden pose for photos after Senator Biden’s mock swearing-in ceremony as U.S. Senator
“(A) world in which George W. Bush had never listened to Dick Cheney would have been a world without the invasion of Iraq and would probably have been a world without extreme NATO expansion, including reckless commitment to Ukraine in the final days of the Bush administration, and would probably We have been in a world in which Obama’s successor has not continued the US regime-change policy in the Middle East with the destruction of Libya, Syria and Yemen.’ wrote climate activist Stephen McIntyre.
Others marveled at the sheer madness of the event, suggesting that the ‘Matrix’ had been broken or that the ‘simulation’ of reality had ‘gone out of control’.
“When you’re that desperate to win, thank Dick Cheney for ‘what he did to serve our country,’” wrote The Chain Gamer’s Ali. “The simulation has gotten out of hand.”
“I honestly didn’t have it on my bingo card that the Democrats would stop calling Dick Cheney a war criminal and instead thank him for his service to the country.” wrote user Amez808. ‘Incredible timeline.’
“The writers are just fucking with us right now.” wrote Cathy Young.
Federalist writer Sean Davis shared a quote from Joe Biden from the 2012 vice presidential debate, describing Cheney as “the most dangerous vice president probably in American history.”
“So no: Joe Biden has not ‘always admired’ Dick Cheney,” he stated.