Cheney, who has been a critic of Donald Trump and subject of his threats, says citizens, courts and the media ‘must now be the guardrails of democracy’

Liz Cheney has called on courts of law, the news media, government bureaucrats and other citizens to be the “guardrails of democracy” after Kamala Harris – whom she served as a conservative campaign surrogate – lost the US presidential election to their common opponent Donald Trump.

In a social media post on Wednesday, the former high profile Republican Wyoming congresswoman, and daughter of ex-vice president Dick Cheney, also urged Harris’ supporters to accept her defeat “whether we like the outcome or not”.