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Pulitzer Prize-winning photographer David Hume Kennerly on Thursday defended former Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., after he resigned from the Ford Foundation over its refusal to consider her for its Medal for Distinguished Public Service, a snub he claims was driven by the possibility of former President Donald Trump winning this year’s presidential election.
In his letter of resignation from the Ford Foundation board as a trustee, Kennerly argued that Cheney, a vocal opponent of Trump’s, was rejected multiple times for the top award out of fear of retribution from Trump if he wins re-election.
“If the foundation that bears the name of Gerald R. Ford won’t stand up to this real threat to our democracy, who will?” Kennerly wrote in his letter, referring to a possible second presidential term for Trump.
During a Thursday interview on “Morning Joe,” Kennerly said one of the few people standing up to Trump is Cheney, arguing that she’s “the only person on this planet” who should have won the Ford Foundation’s top award.
“They’re putting out statements from the board about how the they had to not give her the award because it would threaten their tax status,” he said. “And that’s just, you know, going down the legal rabbit hole.”
Kennerly said he has concerns about the hold that Trump has on the Republican Party, saying that Cheney is a “bright shining light” who has faced death threats for refusing to go along with the former president’s baseless claims of a stolen election.
“The foundation, which I’ve been on for a couple decades, is not stepping up with her. They’re giving all these excuses now,” he said.
Kennerly noted that even though Cheney has not announced a presidential campaign, the foundation asserted it could not give the top award to Cheney because it would threaten the group’s tax status, citing her past remarks raising the possibility of a presidential bid. He also mentioned that her father, former Vice President Dick Cheney, with whom he worked at the White House, received the award in 2004 when he was a candidate for vice president.
“So maybe he should give that award back to them for fear that they might lose their status,” Kennerly said.
Kennerly explained that the decision to snub Cheney for the top award was made by the executive committee of the foundation’s board, not the general board that he was a member of. He said he had “strongly suggested” Cheney for the award, but the committee was not receptive because she had raised the possibility of a presidential bid.
“They’re just being petty and fearful like so many people in the country,” he said. “And you gotta listen to Liz [Cheney]. She’s out there getting big crowds all around the country of Democrats and Republicans to hear her message, which is to keep Donald Trump away from the Oval Office. That’s the only award she wants, is to see him put out to pasture.”
The Ford Foundation and the Trump campaign did not immediately respond to NBC News’ requests for comment.
Cheney faced backlash within the Republican Party after she emerged as a vocal critic of Trump in the aftermath of the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol attack amid the former president’s refusal to concede his loss to Joe Biden. She served as vice chair of the House Jan. 6 committee and was among the few Republicans who voted to impeach Trump in 2021. She was ousted from her No. 3 post in House GOP leadership and lost her re-election bid in 2022 to Trump-endorsed primary challenger Harriet Hageman.
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