Kamala Harris Cozying Up to Liz Cheney Could Backfire—Here's Why

Vice President Kamala Harris teaming up with Liz Cheney could backfire, as former president Donald Trump seeks to paint the former Republican congresswoman as a "war hawk" and highlight her father's role in the Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts, in a bid to appeal to Arab-American voters.

Harris appeared with Cheney at three events in the battleground states of Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin on Monday, seeking to bring in Republicans disillusioned with Trump and suburban voters. All three counties visited—Chester County in Pennsylvania, Oakland County in Michigan and Waukesha County in Wisconsin—were won by Nikki Haley, the former South Carolina governor, in the GOP primary contests.

Harris has embraced the support of lifelong Republicans like Cheney and her father, former Vice President Dick Cheney, as she and Democrats seek to win over enough voters in an election that is expected to be decided by small margins in the crucial swing states. Liz Cheney, a vocal Trump critic, endorsed Harris in September, and revealed that her father would also be voting for Harris in November.

But Harris campaigning with Cheney could further erode her support among Arab-American voters, especially in the swing state of Michigan, which has a significant Arab-American population, amid deep frustration over the Biden administration's ongoing support for Israel's offensives in Gaza and Lebanon.

"In this moment, Arab American and Muslim voters are deeply skeptical about Kamala Harris, given her refusal to depart from the Biden administration's material miilitary and financial support for Israel's deadly attacks in Gaza and now Lebanon," Nazita Lajevardi, an associate professor of political science at Michigan State University, told Newsweek.

"As Harris continues to ignore the policy demands of Arab American and Muslim populations in the U.S., particularly in key battleground states where she could very much benefit from their electoral support, she has moved closer to the center right."

Lajevardi said that "by campaigning with figures like Liz Cheney, and proclaiming that she will have a Republican in her cabinet, Harris is courting moderate Republicans, at the expense of actual party members, which communicates a lot to observers and prospective voters about how much she plans to substantively represent the policy demands of her party."

Trump has sought to take advantage, writing on his Truth Social platform on Tuesday that Harris has "stooped so low" by campaigning alongside Cheney.

In an apparent bid to appeal to Arab-American voters who disdain her father for his role in shaping U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East, and particularly his support for the Iraq war and the Bush administration's broader "war on terror," Trump wrote that Dick Cheney had "convinced Bush to go into the Middle East and KILL. Now Kamala wants Arabs to vote for her? I don't think so!"

In a post on Monday, he leveled a similar attack, claiming that Arab-American voters are "very upset" with Harris for campaigning alongside the former congresswoman.

"Arab Voters are very upset that Comrade Kamala Harris, the Worst Vice President in the History of the United States and a Low IQ individual, is campaigning with "dumb as a rock" War Hawk, Liz Cheney, who, like her father, the man that pushed Bush to ridiculously go to War in the Middle East, also wants to go to War with every Muslim Country known to mankind," Trump wrote.

"Remember, Liz Cheney lost her Congressional Seat by the LARGEST margin, 40%, in History for a sitting Congressperson. If Kamala gets four more years, the Middle East will spend the next four decades going up in flames, and your kids will be going off to War, maybe even a Third World War, something that will never happen with President Donald J. Trump in charge. For our Country's sake, and for your kids, Vote Trump for PEACE!"

The Trump and Harris campaigns have been contacted for comment via email.

Trump and Harris have been seeking to win the votes of Arab Americans, and two recent polls show that Trump has a razor-thin edge over Harris among the group.

Trump has sought to capitalize on the community's frustration with the Biden administration, despite his history of hostile rhetoric and policies towards Muslims in his first term. He has pledged to reinstate the travel ban targeting Muslim countries that he instituted in his first term and even to broaden it to include refugees from Gaza if he wins a second term.

Harris, meanwhile, has struggled to balance support for Israel with condemnations of civilian casualties among Palestinians, but as vice president she is tied to Biden's foreign-policy decisions.

Arab Americans angry about Harris' refusal to support an arms embargo and distance the U.S. from Israel have told Newsweek of their plans to make their voices heard at the ballot box.

"This is a moment for Arab Americans, for Muslim Americans—the majority of us," said Ali Dabaja, of Dearborn Heights. "There's no turning back from genocide. There's no turning back from massive bunker bombs that decimate and massacre our people." Israel denies accusations of genocide.

Trump has long used the Iraq war to criticize his political opponents and repeatedly insisted that he was opposed to it from the start, calling it a "terrible mistake" that destabilized the Middle East.

However, he offered lukewarm support for a possible invasion of Iraq in an interview with radio host Howard Stern on September 11, 2002. Asked if he supported a potential invasion of the country, Trump said: "Yeah, I guess so."

And on March 21, 2003, just days after the invasion, Trump said it "looks like a tremendous success from a military standpoint," the Associated Press reported. It was only later, in 2003, that he began expressing reservations.

Update 10/23/24, 2:35 a.m. ET: This article has been updated with comment from Nazita Lajevardi.