President Gerald Ford's Republican Daughter Endorses Kamala Harris: 'America Cannot Regress'

Mar. 15, 2025

Susan Ford and President Gerald Ford in 1975; Kamala Harris in 2024.Photo:Guy DeLort/WWD/Penske Media via Getty/Getty; Drew Hallowell/Getty

Guy DeLort/WWD/Penske Media via Getty/Getty; Drew Hallowell/Getty

PresidentGerald Ford’s conservative daughter,Susan Ford Bales, has endorsedKamala Harrisin 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 astatementon 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 6the horrors of what that looks like, and we can never allow a repeat of that tragedy,” Bales continued, asserting that those responsible forinciting violence at the Capitolon Jan. 6, 2021, “must be held accountable.”

President Gerald Ford and Susan Ford in 1975.PL Gould/Images Press/Getty

PL Gould/Images Press/Getty

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.”

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, tomilitary generalsand former Trump officials on the right.

Harris also notably earned the support offormer Vice President Dick Cheneyand 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 toAP. “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 Grishamand Trump’s former communications directorAnthony Scaramucciare among otherRepublicans endorsing Harris over Trump.

source: people.com