Sanders says he 'applauds' Cheneys for backing Harris, 'defending democracy'  

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) on Sunday lauded former Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) and her father, former Vice President Dick Cheney (R), for their "courage" to back Vice President Harris in the 2024 election.

"What I think Dick and Liz Cheney are saying is that in this existential moment in American history, it's not just issues. Cheney and I agree on nothing — no issues. But what we do believe in is that the United States should retain its democratic foundations," Sanders said on NBC News's "Meet the Press" when asked if he would welcome Liz Cheney on the campaign trail.

"So, I applaud the Cheneys for their courage in defending democracy.
Obviously, on all the issues we have very different points of view," he said.

The younger Cheney, who has become one of former President Trump's most vocal critics following the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol insurrection, publicly threw her support behind Harris last week "because of the danger" Trump poses. She maintained Sunday that she is still a conservative and would like to see the Republican Party "rebuilt" to how it was before Trump's leadership.

A day after Cheney backed Harris, her father announced he would do the same, stating Americans "have a duty" to defend the Constitution, regardless of political party.

Sanders, an independent who caucuses with Democrats, said the Cheneys are among a bigger group of Republicans who are against Trump and willing to cross party lines to prevent him from being reelected.

"I think there is a significant number of Republicans that say, 'Well, you know, I may not agree with the vice president on this issue or that issue, but I cannot support somebody who is a pathological liar, somebody who fomented an insurrection to overthrow the election,'" he said.

Liz Cheney on Sunday argued Republicans who are publicly against Trump but not backing Harris must "take the extra step" and endorse the vice president.

"Given the closeness of this election, particularly if you're going to find yourself voting in a swing state, you've got to take the extra step if you really do recognize the threat that Donald Trump poses. Then it's not enough to simply say, 'I'm not going to vote for him,'" Cheney said on ABC News's "This Week."

“I would also remind them, you know what? It’s a secret ballot. So, I would prefer to have as many people as possible publicly making the case,” she said. “But at the end of the day, you just have to wrestle with your own conscience when you’re there in the voting booth. And I would expect that you will see far more Republicans and independents, you know, when the time comes, and they’ve got to make that decision, make the right decision.”

Some Republicans, including Sen. Mitt Romney (Utah), former Vice President Mike Pence and GOP Maryland Senate candidate and former Gov. Larry Hogan, have maintained they will not vote for Harris and instead write in somebody else.

The Cheneys' endorsement of Harris joins those made by fellow anti-Trump Republicans such as former Rep. Adam Kinzinger (Ill.) and former Georgia Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan in publicly supporting the vice president.