VP Harris makes campaign stop with Liz Cheney in Brookfield
BROOKFIELD, Wis. (CBS 58) — On a day spent appealing to suburban voters in a trio of swing states, former GOP Congresswoman Liz Cheney joined Vice President Kamala Harris in making a case against former President Donald Trump on the basis of character.
Cheney sat with Vice President Harris for moderated conversations Monday, Oct. 21, in the suburbs of Philadelphia, Detroit and Milwaukee.
The Wisconsin stop Monday evening took place at the Sharon Lynne Wilson Center for the Arts. It was Harris' second stop in Wisconsin in a five-day span following a rally in Green Bay last Thursday.
Throughout the approximately 40 minutes Cheney and Harris shared the stage, both made a case for moderate and even conservative voters to back the Democratic nominee in this election.
"If you wouldn't hire somebody to babysit your kids, you shouldn't make that guy the president of the United States," Cheney said to applause.
Cheney has been ostracized by many Republicans over her open criticism of Mr. Trump and her involvement on the House committee that investigated the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol. Cheney mentioned the Capitol violence in her opening remarks Monday night.
"Someone who watches an attack on the United States Capitol, an attack conducted by people in his name, and refuses for over three hours to tell the mob to leave?" Cheney said. "I mean, people just need to think about- that's depravity."
The Trump campaign's Wisconsin spokesperson, Jacob Fischer, said in a statement Harris was deflecting from her own shortcomings by joining Cheney in Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin Monday.
"Showing off irrelevant former Republicans of the past at campaign events doesn't change the fact that Kamala Harris is running to extend her record of unlimited illegal immigration, rising prices and endless wars abroad by another four years," Fischer said.
Given recent election results, it's not a surprise Democrats believe they can win over some moderate and conservative voters in Waukesha County.
Former President Trump won Waukesha County in 2016 with 61.6% of the vote. He lagged GOP Sen. Ron Johnson on that same ballot, who won 67.9% of the vote that year. In 2020, Mr. Trump again won Waukesha County, but it was with 59.7% of the vote. Meanwhile, Johnson captured 62.7% of the Waukesha County vote in his 2022 re-election.
Dan Voboril, a Waukesha resident who retired from Milwaukee Public Schools and now teaches at a private school in Elm Grove, said he voted for Mr. Trump in 2016 before abstaining from voting in 2020. Voboril said he was undecided for 2024 but added he won't support Mr. Trump because of the former president's personal characteristics.
"My favorite president, Abraham Lincoln, had character," Voboril said. "And I believe Donald Trump has given up a lot of his character for personal reasons."
There was some policy discussion between Harris and Cheney, particularly on the subjects of health care, abortion and foreign policy. However, most of the conversation, which was moderated by former conservative radio host Charlie Sykes, focused on Mr. Trump's personality.
"I think there's so much about this election," Harris said. "That calls into question whether we are on a track -- with a Donald Trump as president -- to actually teach and show our children a definition of a leader."
Democrats will hold several more events in Wisconsin this week. Former President Barack Obama will join Harris' vice presidential nominee, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, in Madison Tuesday to commemorate the first day of early in-person voting in Wisconsin. Walz will also lead a rally in Racine Tuesday night.
Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff will headline an early voting event in Kenosha on Thursday.
On the Republican side, vice presidential nominee, Ohio Sen. JD Vance, held a Waukesha event Sunday aimed at Catholic voters. Mr. Trump has previously told reporters he plans to hold rallies in Milwaukee and Green Bay before Election Day.