‘Not Going to Make The Difference’: Cotton Brushes Off Dick Cheney’s Kamala Endorsement

Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR) said on Sunday that former Vice President Dick Cheney‘s endorsement of Vice President Kamala Harris will not give her an edge among swing state voters in the 2024 election.

CNN anchor Dana Bash began her interview of Cotton on “State of the Union” by remarking on the fact that both Cheney and his daughter, former Rep. Liz Cheney (R-WY), had announced their support of Harris over President Donald Trump this week.

“We were talking before — in the break,” Bash said. “I covered the Bush-Cheney administration. I traveled a lot with Dick Cheney, one of the most conservative Republicans alive today. It’s really remarkable that he endorsed a Democrat. What does that tell you about Donald Trump?”

Cotton, a Trump ally, replied, “Well, it is a remarkable time in politics. You have Dick Cheney endorsing a Democrat and you have a Kennedy endorsing a Republican,” he added, alluding to Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

“I think what it tells us is that there’s a lot of ferment in American politics. But, in the end, endorsements are not going to make the difference in this race. What’s going to make the difference is their records. This is a very unusual presidential election,” Cotton said. “We have a former president running for office, first time in more than 100 years. People remember that, when Donald Trump was in office, prices were low, wages were high, we had peace and stability around the world.”

Cotton added, “Kamala Harris, as vice president, has brought us record high inflation. We have a wide-open southern border and we have war everywhere you turn around in the world. So, I know that endorsements sometimes make news, but most Americans are making their decisions based on the records of these two candidates. People remember that we had good times with Donald Trump. Kamala Harris and Joe Biden have brought us very bad times.”

In responding to Cotton, Bash said, “I hear you about endorsements. We don’t really know the impact that they have all the time. RFK Jr. hasn’t had — been in an elected office. Dick Cheney was vice president of the United States for eight years. He was a senior member of the House. He was chief of staff to Gerald Ford. He worked tirelessly to advance Republican policies for a long time. You don’t think his endorsement of a Democrat with that kind of pedigree is going to make a difference with the swing voters?”

“No, Dana, I really don’t —,” Cotton said.

“Or Never-Trump voters who weren’t sure about Harris?” Bash asked.

“Well, I mean, some of this is probably that Donald Trump beat his daughter in her last election by 39 points,” Cotton said, referring to Liz Cheney losing her House primary contest against Trump-backed Harriet Hageman in 2022.

“I think most Americans are going to look at this race and compare the records they have,” Cotton continued. “Again, it’s a very unusual race when you have a president who served in office, who brought good times to America, and you have Kamala Harris, a San Francisco liberal, who has brought to America exactly what you see in San Francisco as well.”