PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — As Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump fight for Pennsylvania’s 19 Electoral College votes, the candidates and their surrogates continue to make frequent appearances in the battleground state. On Monday, Harris was in Malvern with Wyoming former Congresswoman Liz Cheney to appeal to conservative and moderate voters.
Conservative podcaster Sarah Longwell moderated the question-and-answer session on stage with Harris and Cheney at People’s Light Theater. She started by asking why more than 200 prominent Republicans are supporting Harris — including Cheney.
“I have said many times publicly, and I'll say it again: In many, many ways, Donald Trump is an unserious man, but the consequences of him being president of the United States are brutally serious,” Cheney said.
“For me, every single thing in my experience and in my background has played a part in my decision to endorse Vice President Harris.”
For her part, Cheney made clear why she is voting for Harris for president, and doing so publicly.
“We have the chance to say … We're going to reject the kind of vile vitriol that we've seen from Donald Trump. We're going to reject the misogyny that we've seen from Donald Trump and JD Vance … We're not always going to agree, but I know vice president Harris will always do what she believes is right for this country.”
Longwell asked Cheney why her father, Dick Cheney, former vice president under George W. Bush, is choosing Harris.
“You have to choose in this race between someone who has been faithful to the Constitution, who will be faithful, and Donald Trump,” Cheney said. “We watched what he did after the last election. We watched what he did on Jan. 6. … I know how quickly democracies can unravel. Afasas someone who has seen firsthand how quickly it can happen. That is what's on the ballot. That's absolutely what's on the ballot.”
Harris also took questions from the audience. Alexandra Miller of Delaware County asked Harris about making child care and elder care more affordable while rewarding the people who do those jobs.
“That work is the work of trying to cook something that they feel like eating, right; trying to figure out which clothes will not irritate their skin; help them put on a sweater. … It's about dignity. Meanwhile, you have a second grader. You try and teach that kid how to read,” Harris said.
“We will restructure it so that Medicare covers the cost of in-home health care…and you can then have the assistance — with someone who can help prepare that meal, help them get dressed — and you can still give that baby of yours all the love that they deserve. And everyone can have dignity.”
Harris told the audience, reportedly of undecided moderate and conservative voters, that this is about defining what Americans are.
“We are an ambitious people. We are aspirational. We have dreams, and that is productive. It is not productive of us to be a nation of people who are pointing fingers at one another who don't understand that the vast majority of us have so much more in common than what separates us.”
The state says nearly 900,000 mail in ballots have already been cast in Pennsylvania. Trump was in Bucks County on Sunday serving French fries to pre-selected, pre-screened supporters at a closed McDonalds before making appearances later in Lancaster and Pittsburgh.