Each year, the Gerald R. The Ford Presidential Award is intended to honor acts of political courage. Criteria include strength of character, sound judgment, decisiveness (“particularly during periods of crisis”) and determination “in the face of adversity.”
David Hume Kennerley, a member of the foundation's board, had in mind the ideal candidate: Liz Cheney.
The former Wyoming congresswoman sacrificed her political career and was effectively expelled from the Republican Party for defying President Trump and overseeing Congress's investigation into the January 6, 2021 insurrection, as well as Trump's treacherous attempts to overturn the 2020 election.
“There was only one human being on this planet who should have received this award,” Kennerley, who served as White House photographer during the Ford administration, said in an interview. “You checked every box.”
But the foundation's executive committee ignored Kennerly's recommendation and passed over Cheney — even after others declined the award — citing concerns that her selection, as a potential 2024 presidential nominee, might jeopardize the group's tax-exempt status.
It is a fig leaf so thin that even the slightest whisper of the breeze blows it away.
In fact, Kennerley said, the executive board fears retaliation from a vengeful Trump if he returns to the White House. Earlier this week, he resigned from the board of directors in protest.
“If the foundation named after Gerald R. Ford won't stand up to this real threat to our democracy, who will?” Kennerley said in a five-page letter to the executive committee.
(Ford's singular act of political courage was his pardon of former President Nixon, which hastened the country's recovery from the Watergate scandal, though it may have cost Ford the closely contested 1976 presidential election.)
“I cannot in good conscience remain on the board of an organization that represents Gerald R. Ford and does not demonstrate his courage,” said Kennerley, who was personally close to the late president and his wife, Betty. “It is now a place whose leadership is intimidated by a demagogue who is creating and spreading the greatest crisis our country has faced since the Civil War.”
Kennerly explained in the interview. He said from his home in Los Angeles that his resignation was a quiet act of protest. But it became public almost immediately when someone — not him — leaked the letter to Politico.
“Any time you put something down…” Kennerly said in a low voice. The Pulitzer Prize-winning photographer has spent decades in and around politics, so, “I'm not naive,” he said.
During the half-hour conversation, Kennerley oscillated between anger — “chicken,” as he described the board's disdain for Cheney — and concern that his actions would not be misunderstood.
“This is not easy. I don't want this to look like a projection of a B-52 strike on the Ford Foundation,” said Kennerley, whose searing images of the Vietnam War have become an indelible part of America's historical record. “It's more about the fear factor facing People in our country now. “People are afraid to intervene, and you can thank the former president for that.”
Kennerley's protest, though heartfelt, could easily be dismissed as the complaint of someone who didn't get his way. He described Cheney as one of his best friends and is also close to her family.
But as someone steeped in history, who has witnessed politicians up close and cataloged human courage and failings in a way that few have done, Kennerley's observations deserve attention.
The foundation's board includes dozens of trustees, including Cheney, who submit nominations to the 12-member executive committee, which has the final say on each year's recipient of the Ford Medal for Distinguished Public Service.
Kennerley was the first to recommend Cheney for the award last fall. The executive board chose someone else — even though it was quite clear that Cheney, who had been mentioned as a potential candidate to stop Trump, was not running for president.
This should have removed those supposed concerns about the group's tax position.
When that person declined the award, and then another, Kennerley again recommended Cheney. (It was not mentioned who else was chosen and why they declined the honor.)
Instead, the executive board chose former Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels, and Kennerly resigned soon after. (“Don't knock Daniels,” he said.)
After Kennerley's resignation became public, Ford Presidential Foundation Executive Director Gleaves Whitney issued a statement citing fiduciary liability, tax issues, legal risks, blah blah.
Clearly these were not a concern in 2004 when Dick Cheney, Liz's father, received the Ford Medal. At the time, he was running for re-election as vice president.
After further reflection — and after a day of scathing negative publicity — Whitney issued a follow-up statement Wednesday night.
He said Cheney “meets all the criteria that the Ford Foundation Presidential Medal stands for — courage, integrity and passion for service to the American people.”
“The foundation’s decision… does not reflect it but rather reflects the law that governs nonprofits,” Whitney said. “The action taken by the Foundation this year in no way prevents it from seriously considering receiving the medal in a future year.”
Kennerley's response was succinct: “Total withdrawal.”
So, as it stands, perhaps Cheney—all things considered—will one day, after serious consideration, be recognized with the Ford Medal for the critical service she has done to the country by exposing Trump and his insurgent actions.
This should be said at no small personal cost.
But currently the foundation's leaders lack the courage to honor Cheney for her outstanding act of courage.
It would be funny if it weren't so pathetic.
