A Pulitzer Prize winner resigned from the board of the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Foundation on Tuesday, protesting the group’s snub of former Rep. Liz Cheney for its top honor, fearing that Donald J. Trump would retaliate upon his return would the presidency.
David Hume Kennerly, an acclaimed photographer for his coverage of the Vietnam War who was also chief White House photographer for Mr. Ford, criticized the foundation for its decision to pass over Ms. Cheney for the Gerald R. Ford Medal of Distinguished Public Service.
In his resignation letter, obtained by The New York Times and first reported by Politico, Mr. Kennerly wrote that Ms. Cheney, one of Mr. Trump’s harshest critics in the Republican Party, should have been a consensus for the honor given her role in the response the administration’s response to the attack on the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021. “America is fortunate that Liz Cheney is still at the forefront of freedom, vigorously defending our Constitution and our democratic way of life,” he wrote.
Mr. Kennerly, who worked for United Press International and was a board member since the early 2000s, nominated Ms. Cheney for the medal last year and said he had asked the foundation’s executive committee to reconsider her this year. He noted that Ms. Cheney was a board member of the foundation.
“A key reason for rejecting Liz’s nomination was her excitement about what might happen if the former president was re-elected,” Mr. Kennerly wrote. “Some of you, in retaliation for selecting Liz for the award, raised the specter that you would be attacked by the Internal Revenue Service and lose the Foundation’s tax-exempt status.”
Gleaves Whitney, executive director of the Ford Presidential Foundation, gave a different reason in a statement explaining why Ms. Cheney was passed over by the organization: that her name was being floated for a possible third-party presidential bid.
“When the award was being discussed, it was publicly reported that Cheney was actively being considered for a presidential run by No Labels,” Whitney said, referring to a centrist political group. “In exercising its fiduciary responsibilities, the Executive Committee concluded that awarding Cheney the Ford Medal could be construed as a political statement in the 2024 election cycle, thereby placing the Foundation at legal risk of losing its nonprofit status with the IRS.”
No Labels last week abandoned its plans to run for the 2024 presidential election after failing to recruit high-profile candidates.
Ryan Clancy, chief strategist at No Labels, said in a statement on Wednesday that the group had informed Ms. Cheney of its strategy for ballot access in 2024 but had not offered her a place on her ballot.
Ms. Cheney did not immediately respond to requests for comment left with a spokesman on Wednesday.
Ms. Cheney, the top Republican on the House special committee that investigated the Jan. 6 attack, was regularly vilified by Mr. Trump and his supporters. Her criticism and disdain for the former president led to her downfall during the 2022 Republican primary in her House district in Wyoming, which she represented in Congress for six years.
A spokesman for the Trump campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment Wednesday.
Ms. Cheney’s father, former Vice President Dick Cheney, was Mr. Ford’s White House chief of staff and is listed as a trustee on the foundation’s website.
Mr. Kennerly blamed those who opposed Ms. Cheney for the honor of pandering to Mr. Trump, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, and said that Mr. Ford, the medal’s namesake, would not have conceded.
“Those of you who rejected Liz join many ‘good Republicans’ who are now aiding and abetting our 45th President by ignoring the real threat he poses to our country,” Kennerly wrote, adding adding: “Gerald Ford would not have been intimidated by Phantom.” Follow.”
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2024-04-11 03:06:01
www.nytimes.com
