Pulitzer Prize-winning photographer David Hume Kennerly on Thursday he defended the former deputy. Liz CheneyR-Wyo., after he resigned from the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Foundation over its refusal to consider her for the Medal for Distinguished Public Service – a snub he claims was motivated by the possibility of former president donald trump win this year’s presidential elections.
In his letter of resignation from the foundation’s board as a trustee, Kennerly argued that Cheney, a vocal opponent of Trump, was repeatedly rejected for the top prize out of fear of retaliation from Trump if he won re-election.
“If the foundation that bears Gerald R. Ford’s name doesn’t confront 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 is “the only person on this planet” who should have won the foundation’s top prize.
“They are releasing statements from the board about how they had to not give her the award because it would threaten her tax situation,” he said. “And that’s just, you know, going down the legal rabbit hole.”
Kennerly, who was Ford’s White House photographer, said he was concerned about Trump’s grip on the Republican Party and called Cheney a “bright light” who faced death threats for refusing to agree to the former’s baseless allegations. president of a stolen election.
“The foundation, which I have been with for a few decades, is not keeping up with it. They are making all these excuses now,” he said.
Kennerly noted that although Cheney has not announced a presidential campaign, the foundation stated that it could not give the top prize to Cheney because it would threaten the group’s fiscal situation, citing her previous comments raising the possibility of a presidential candidacy. He also mentioned that his father, former Vice President Dick Cheneywho worked as Ford’s chief of staff, received the award in 2004, when he was running for vice president. “So maybe he should give that award back to them out of fear that they would lose their status,” Kennerly said.
Kennerly said the decision to pass up Cheney for the top prize was made by the foundation’s board executive committee, not the general council of which he was a member. He said he “strongly suggested” Cheney for the award, but the committee was not receptive because she had raised the possibility of a presidential run.
“They’re just being petty and fearful like so many people in the country,” he said. “And you have to listen to Liz [Cheney]. She’s out there, drawing large crowds of Democrats and Republicans across the country to hear her message, which is to keep Donald Trump out of the Oval Office. That’s the only prize she wants: to see him put out to pasture.”
In a statement, the foundation’s executive director, Gleaves Whitney, said the decision not to award the award to Cheney “is not a reflection on her, but on the law governing nonprofit organizations.”
The group’s executive committee, “guided by its legal advisor, concluded that it was not prudent to award the Ford 2024 Medal to Liz Cheney,” the statement continues. “At the time the award was being discussed, it was publicly disclosed that Liz was under active consideration for a presidential candidacy. Exercising its fiduciary responsibility, the executive committee concluded that awarding the Ford Medal to Liz in the 2024 election cycle could be interpreted as a political statement and thus expose the Foundation to the legal risk of losing its non-profit status with the IRS.”
The statement also noted that Cheney serves on the foundation’s board of directors and added that she “meets all of the criteria that the Ford Presidential Foundation Medal stands for – courage, integrity and passion to serve the American people.”
“The Foundation’s actions this year do not prevent it from seriously considering receiving the medal in a future year,” he stated.
Trump campaign spokesman Steven Cheung said in a statement that Cheney “and her cronies are more concerned about their own personal prizes than the direction of this country.”
Cheney faced backlash within the Republican Party after she emerged as a vocal critic of Trump following the attack on the Capitol on January 6, 2021, amid the former president’s refusal to concede his defeat to Joe Biden. She served as vice chair of the House January 6 committee and was one of the few Republicans who voted to impeach Trump in 2021. She was stripped of her third House GOP leadership post and lost her 2022 re-election bid to Trump-endorsed primary challenger Harriet Hageman.
This article was originally published in NBCNews. with
