WASHINGTON – It’s quite surprising to see staunch conservative Dick Cheney and progressive leader Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez voting for the same candidate in this presidential race.

This sort of political crossover is rare in elections.

Donald Trump’s campaign for a second term is leading to unusual scenarios, especially as longtime Republican figures like Dick Cheney, his daughter Liz Cheney, and former GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney openly oppose him. The Cheneys have even stated they will vote for Trump’s adversary, Vice President Kamala Harris.

Additionally, former President George W. Bush has decided not to endorse the current party nominee and has kept his voting intentions for November private, as confirmed by a spokesperson over the weekend.

This predicament would have been hard to fathom a decade ago: the most recent Republican president and previous nominee refusing to support the current GOP candidate.

Not so long ago, no one would have imagined Romney not receiving Bush’s backing in 2012, or the late Sen. John McCain not getting support in 2008. Even former President Bill Clinton backed then-Senator Barack Obama during the 2008 primaries, despite his wife Hillary Clinton being defeated.

Many of these notable Republicans who have distanced themselves from Trump have articulated that both policy differences and personal traits are causing this rift within the GOP, and these issues could potentially influence the election outcome between Trump and Harris.

“What has transpired in the Republican Party today is unacceptable,” Liz Cheney stated on ABC’s “This Week.” “I hope to help rebuild it after this election cycle.”

Trump and his supporters argue that the party has been transformed through the MAGA movement, claiming that most Republican voters remain loyal to them, while labeling critics as “Republicans in Name Only.”

“Dick Cheney is an irrelevant RINO, just like his daughter,” Trump remarked in a post on Truth Social over the weekend.

Meanwhile, the political arena is grappling with the extraordinary situation where the Cheneys, historically among the most conservative figures in recent politics, are now supporting Harris, who represents progressive California. Many referenced Bill Murray’s character from the 1984 movie Ghostbusters: “Human sacrifice! Dogs and cats living together! Mass hysteria!”

Policy and Personality

Some Republicans who have criticized Trump’s rise in the last eight years genuinely oppose him on various national issues that were once party staples. As Trump gradually reshaped the GOP beginning with his 2016 election, the party has shifted toward a more interventionist economic stance and a more isolationist foreign policy.

Trump’s campaign in 2016 heavily criticized traditional Republicans, including past leaders from the party such as Dick Cheney, leading to this ongoing conflict.

Notably, Trump has blamed Obama and Hillary Clinton—his opponent in 2016—for many things, while also criticizing Bush and Cheney, especially regarding the 2003 Iraq war and the financial crisis of 2007-08. The businessman from New York condemned longstanding Republican endorsements of free trade and foreign military alliances.

In response, several Republican leaders have objected to Trump’s tariff plans that threaten free trade and suggested that his criticism of NATO and other alliances might empower adversaries like Russia and China.

These Republicans have expressed dissatisfaction over numerous Trump actions, including his remarks regarding the January 6 insurrection, his repeated threats to prosecute political foes like President Joe Biden and Liz Cheney, as well as his offhand comment about becoming a “dictator” on his first day in relation to border security and energy policies.

In her interview with ABC, Liz Cheney stated about Trump: “Ultimately, it’s vital for people to understand that he’s not a conservative.”

Personal Factors for the Bushes, Cheneys, and Romneys

Additionally, personal dynamics have played a role in the disputes between Trump and certain party members.

During Trump’s term as president, both Liz Cheney and Romney emerged as leading Republican voices against him. The pinnacle of their resistance was in early 2021 when Cheney and nine other House Republicans voted to impeach Trump following the January 6 violence. Romney likewise voted to convict Trump during his Senate trial.

In retaliation, Trump supported a Republican challenger against Cheney in the 2022 elections. Cheney faced a significant defeat, despite enlisting the help of a standout Republican, her father, former Wyoming congressman and Vice President Dick Cheney, who took part in a campaign advertisement against Trump, labeling him as a major threat to democracy.

The elder Cheney mirrored these sentiments recently in his support for Harris, stating, “In our nation’s 248-year history, no one has posed a greater threat to our republic than Donald Trump. He attempted to overturn the previous election using lies and violence to cling to power after the voters rejected him. He should never again be trusted with authority.”

Other GOP figures—including Bush, Romney, and Trump’s former vice president, Mike Pence—have opted not to endorse Trump’s second run. However, none have indicated they would vote for Harris. While Bush has distanced himself from political engagements, Trump’s remarks have also affected him personally. After all, Trump took jabs at Jeb Bush during the 2016 Republican primaries, branding him as “low energy.”

Though Bush has sometimes countered Trump, these confrontations have rarely been direct. For instance, during a ceremony in Pennsylvania in 2021 commemorating the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, Bush emphasized that “a significant part of our politics has turned into a blatant appeal to anger, fear, and resentment.”

Following the attempted insurrection by Trump supporters on January 6, 2021, Bush released a statement expressing that he and Laura Bush found it “sickening and heartbreaking.”

Although Bush didn’t mention Trump directly, he remarked: “This is how election outcomes are contested in a banana republic – not in our democratic republic.”

Laura Bush has also refrained from commenting on political matters in recent years. Nonetheless, she described some of the Trump administration’s immigration policies as “cruel” and “immoral” in a 2018 op-ed for the Washington Post, stating, “It breaks my heart.”

Will Dick Cheney influence other Republicans?

This isn’t just any Republican. Few individuals have done as much to advance conservative agendas as Cheney, who strengthened the vice presidency to advocate for issues such as oil and gas production and military actions to oust Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein.

Cheney was also known for his confrontations with Democratic opponents, of which there were many.

When Democratic Senator Patrick Leahy challenged Cheney about his connections to the oil industry in 2004, Cheney retorted with an obscenity implying that the Vermont senator should do something impossible. (“That’s sort of the best thing I ever did,” Cheney later told radio host Dennis Miller.)

However, Cheney’s choice to join Team Harris drew mockery from some remaining Republicans.

Arkansas Governor Sarah Sanders, a former Trump press secretary who also appeared on ABC’s “This Week,” stated that she fails to see how any dissenting Republicans could still call themselves conservative while supporting Harris.

“That doesn’t make you a conservative,” Sanders declared. “It certainly doesn’t make you a Republican. It seems to me like a strategy to protect the establishment.”

Sanders and others have emphasized that anti-Trump Republicans represent a small minority. In Trump’s first two elections, he secured 88% and 94% of the Republican vote, according to exit polling; he’s on track to again garner over 90% of the GOP vote overall.

There are many interpretations of this situation. During her appearance on ABC News, Liz Cheney indicated that President Ronald Reagan – a key figure in the conservative movement and a two-time landslide election winner in the 1980s – would never have supported Trump.

She stated that Trump’s agenda “is not the party of Ronald Reagan.”

Conversely, Trump and his supporters frequently portray him as a successor to Reagan. Actor Dennis Quaid, who is set to portray Reagan in an upcoming film, expressed to CNN anchor Chris Wallace that both were products of different eras, but he believes “the principles of Ronald Reagan and the principles of Donald J. Trump are very similar.”

Wallace disagreed: “I’ve got to say, I think Reagan would have been horrified by Trump’s conduct.”

Others express surprise at the newfound Democratic admiration for Dick Cheney.

Meghan McCain, daughter of John McCain, commented on social media platform X: “It’s objectively hilarious to see all these extreme progressives suddenly become fans of Dick Cheney.”