President Gerald Ford’s conservative daughter, Susan Ford Bales, has endorsed Kamala Harris in the 2024 presidential election.
Bales’ late father was a prominent Republican who served as the House minority leader before becoming vice president and then president in 1974 following Richard Nixon’s resignation. A half-century after Ford’s ascension to the Oval Office, his youngest child is weighing in on the state of politics today.
Bales, 67, wrote in a statement on Monday, Oct. 21, about Harris’ integrity and commitment to defending the Constitution, which were not unlike her father’s principles while in the White House.
“When my father, Gerald Ford, was sworn-in as America’s 38th President, the nation was in need of a serious, compassionate and honorable leader who had the courage to do what was right and always to defend our Constitution,” Bales began. “His dedication to those values helped bring our country through a turbulent time and restored Americans’ trust in our democracy.”
“We face a similar dynamic today. America cannot regress back to a divisive paradigm of loathing toward one another and disdain for our Constitution. We witnessed on January 6 the horrors of what that looks like, and we can never allow a repeat of that tragedy,” Bales continued, asserting that those responsible for inciting violence at the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, “must be held accountable.”
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Bales noted that though she and Harris, 60, “likely disagree on some policy matters,” the vice president’s “integrity and commitment” to the same principles that her father committed to “have led me to conclude that Kamala Harris should be elected 47th President of the United States.”
“She recognizes the goodness and the greatness in our country. I know she will defend the rule of law and our Constitution. And I know she will work to bring all Americans together to move us beyond partisanship,” Bales continued.
“That is what America deserves from our President, and that is why I am proud to endorse Vice President Harris for President of the United States.”
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Harris’ presidential campaign has built a wide base across the political spectrum, from Democratic Socialist Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and progressive independent Sen. Bernie Sanders on the left, to military generals and former Trump officials on the right.
Harris also notably earned the support of former Vice President Dick Cheney and his daughter, former Wyoming Rep. Liz Cheney, who have denounced Trump.
“He can never be trusted with power again,” Dick said about Trump in a September statement, according to AP. “As citizens, we each have a duty to put country above partisanship to defend our Constitution. That is why I will be casting my vote for Vice President Kamala Harris.”
Former Rep. Adam Kinzinger, former Trump spokeswoman Stephanie Grisham and Trump’s former communications director Anthony Scaramucci are among other Republicans endorsing Harris over Trump.
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