RIPON, Wisc. (AP) – Liz Cheney, one of Donald Trump’s fiercest Republican opponents, joined Kamala Harris on Thursday at the spot in Wisconsin where the modern Republican Party was born, as the Democratic vice president sought to win over moderate voters and former president wanted to startle. .

Watch the event in the player above.

The daughter of former Republican Vice President Dick Cheney, former Rep. Liz Cheney was the top Republican lawmaker on the House committee investigating the January 6, 2021 insurrection, earning Trump’s scorn and herself effectively expelled from her own party.

“Violence does not and should never determine who governs us. Voters do,” Cheney told the crowd as she recounted Trump refusing to act as he watched the violent attack on television. Someone in the crowd shouted “coward!” Others booed.

“He praised the rioters. He did not condemn them. That is who Donald Trump is,” Cheney said.

She lost her seat in Wyoming two years ago to a Trump-backed candidate and last month endorsed Harris, the Democratic nominee. The two women appeared together in Ripon, home to a white schoolhouse where a series of meetings in 1854 to oppose the expansion of slavery led to the start of the Republican Party.

“I know she loves our country, and I know she will be a president for all Americans,” Cheney said of Harris. Noting that she herself remains a conservative, Cheney said she was “honored to join her on this urgent cause.”

Instead of her usual “Harris-Walz” campaign signs, the stage was decorated with large signs that read “Country Over Party,” along with lots of red, white and blue bunting.

Harris opened a two-day trip to Wisconsin and Michigan, and Trump was in Michigan on Thursday as the two candidates battle for victories in the “blue wall” battleground states, which include Pennsylvania.

Meanwhile, President Joe Biden said Thursday he wasn’t worried about a high-stakes race between Trump and Harris because “it’s always so close.”

“She’s doing well,” Biden said of Harris to reporters on the South Lawn of the White House, en route to a visit to storm-ravaged Georgia and Florida. He added that Harris’ running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, did well in his debate with Republican vice presidential candidate J.D. Vance during Tuesday’s debate in New York.

“The other guy lost the debate,” Biden said. “He misrepresented everything.”

Harris’ visit to Wisconsin comes one day after a federal judge unsealed a 165-page court filing laying out prosecutors’ case against Trump over his effort to overturn his 2020 election defeat. Trump has denied guilty of conspiracy and obstruction charges.

Trump made no mention of the document filed by special counsel Jack Smith or of Cheney’s appearance with Harris during an 82-minute speech at a rally in Saginaw County, Michigan. In 2020, Democrat Biden won Bellwether County by just under 303 votes, contributing to his victory in the state.

WATCH: What newly unearthed evidence reveals about Trump’s alleged actions on and before January 6

As Trump spoke, his campaign announced he will appear in Georgia on Friday with Republican Governor Brian Kemp. The two men made peace after Trump unleashed a blistering attack on Kemp in August, whom he faulted for not relenting in his efforts to reverse his 2020 loss.

As for Harris, it is unusual, to say the least, for a candidate to give a nod to the origins of the opposing party in the final weeks of a presidential campaign. Not only that, the name Cheney was once anathema to Democrats who deplored Dick Cheney, Liz’s father, for his role as vice president under George W. Bush.

During the 2020 campaign, Liz Cheney criticized Harris as “a radical liberal” who wants to “remake America in the image of what’s happening on the streets of Portland and Seattle,” a reference to the unrest that took place in those cities after the assassination of George Floyd.

But January 6 was a turning point for Liz Cheney and her family. Both Cheneys support Harris, who is part of a group of current and former Republican officials who have broken with the vast majority of their party, which remains in Trump’s corner. Harris wants to portray her candidacy as a patriotic choice for independent and conservative voters who were concerned about Trump’s unwillingness to relinquish power. Trump continues to deny his defeat with false claims of voter fraud.

Harris was also endorsed Thursday by Cassidy Hutchinson, who was a young White House aide during Trump’s presidency and described during a Jan. 6 hearing of Cheney’s congressional committee how she was disgusted by Trump’s refusal to stop the rioters that day . Harris’ campaign also began airing ads targeting Republicans, independents and former Trump voters in battleground states.

Cheney’s presence caused some dissonance among Harris supporters in the audience, especially those who remember her father’s role as a Republican headliner.

Victor Romero, 46, said it was “a little weird” to be at an event with her.

“I still don’t like Liz Cheney’s politics. But I’m glad she understands that the Republican Party that currently exists is only for Trump.”

But younger voters mainly know Cheney because he stands up to Trump.

“She stuck to her morals,” said Kynaeda Gray, 22.

Harris will hold a campaign rally in Flint, Michigan, on Friday and continue her tour of states that have been crucial to Democrats’ victories. Trump won Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Michigan in 2016, and Biden won them in 2020.

Trump has increased his focus on Michigan, holding two rallies there less than a week ago before Thursday’s appearance in Saginaw.

Associated Press writers Joey Cappelletti in Saginaw, Michigan, and Jonathan J. Cooper in Phoenix contributed to this report.