Rep. Liz Cheney, in one of her first moves since being ousted as House Republican Conference chair, affirmed that she will do “whatever it takes” to end Donald Trump’s reign over the GOP and ensure he is kept out of the White House. The Wyoming congresswoman, who ran afoul of the party for voting to impeach Trump over his role in the U.S. Capitol riot and for refusing to go along with his 2020 election lies, made clear her opposition to the 45th president in an appearance on NBC’s Today where she received multiple questions regarding her 2024 ambitions. “Right now I am very focused on making sure that our party becomes again a party that stands for truth and stands for fundamental principles that are conservative and mostly stands for the Constitution,” the Wyoming lawmaker replied.
In response to anchor Savannah Guthrie wondering aloud about the change of heart among Republicans who supported Cheney’s removal this week after opposing an attempt to oust her in February, Cheney described the shift as “a scary thing,” adding, “For reasons that I don’t understand, leaders in my party have decided to embrace the former president who launched that attack. And I think you’ve watched, over the course of the last several months, the former president get more aggressive, more vocal, pushing the lie.” Cheney went on to accuse Trump of manipulating millions of Republican voters via his lies about Joe Biden’s presidential win being fraudulent and accused GOP congressional leaders of following Trump down a “really dangerous” path. She blamed House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, who helped clear the path for her removal, for failing to provide “courageous leadership.” The former president’s stolen-election conspiracies are “an ongoing threat” in which “silence is not an option,” Cheney said in the interview, adding, “I won’t let a former president or anybody else unravel the democracy.”
On Wednesday, Cheney asserted to reporters her removal indicates “where the Republican Party is, and I think that the party is in a place that we’ve got to bring it back from.” Earlier in her response, she said: “The nation needs a strong Republican Party. The nation needs a party that is based upon fundamental principles of conservatism, and I am committed and dedicated to ensuring that that’s how this party goes forward, and I plan to lead the fight to do that. I will do everything I can to ensure that the former president never again gets anywhere near the Oval Office.”
Over on Fox News, Sean Hannity, who remains devoted to the former president, accused Cheney of harboring a “psychotic rage…against all things Donald Trump.” The host spoke directly to Cheney, advising her to “have fun” during her remaining time as a Republican outcast in Congress. “Enjoy the sanctimonious ranks of the Never Trumpers,” he said. “You were removed from leadership because you put your selfish agenda ahead of the party’s agenda, and the caucus fired you from your leadership position for your failure to lead the agenda. You will likely be canceled, but it will be the people of Wyoming that cancel you, but that’s not till Election Day. You have plenty of time to soak in all the love from Democrats and your new friends in the media that were so kind and so loving to you and your family and your dad and your mom, just wonderful people.”
As for Cheney’s future, she appears intent on rallying what’s left of the anti-Trump constituency within the Republican Party. According to an Axios report, she’ll hit the campaign trail to give speeches and host donor events all in the name of opposing Trump and attempting to diminish his ideological control over the party. Sources aligned with Cheney described to Axios the list of talking points that she will use to make her case: “If we’re ever going to be trusted again to uphold the Constitution, and win again politically, we have to be honest. We can’t embrace Trump: We know what he’s capable of—and we have to be a party of ideas and vision, not a cult of personality.” Though, as noted by veteran GOP members who spoke to The New York Times, some Republicans fear that Cheney’s anti-Trump crusade could merely serve as further motivation for Trump to rev up his campaign machine in 2024 in the hopes of maintaining his dominance over the party.
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