Liz Cheney Lashes Out at Election Deniers DeSantis, Hawley, and Cruz After Primary Loss
The congresswoman fumed that election deniers were “unfit for future office.”
Rep. Liz Cheney (R-WY) publicly shamed some of her congressional colleagues —and potential electoral opponents—after her landslide loss in Wyoming’s primary this week, arguing their brand of election denialism will be their fatal flaw.
“If you look at somebody like Josh Hawley or somebody like Ted Cruz, both of whom know better, both of whom know exactly what the role of Congress is, in terms of our constitutional obligations with respect to presidential elections,” she told ABC’s Jonathan Karl on This Week. “And yet, both of whom took steps that fundamentally threatened the constitutional order and structure in the aftermath of the last election. So, you know, in my view, they both have made themselves unfit for future office.”
Hawley and Cruz were two examples of a broader segment of Republicans—that also included House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA)—who called for Cheney’s defeat in her primary. The two are also potential challengers for the Republican nomination for president in 2024, a title Cheney has said she was actively considering.
She did not mince words for her potential chief opponent for that nomination behind Donald Trump: Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. “DeSantis is somebody who is right now campaigning for election deniers,” she said. “And I think that is something that I think people got to have real pause about ... either you fundamentally believe our constitutional structure or you don’t.”
Cheney would not comment on her future plans for seeking the presidency, saying only she would run for office to win. She did not, however, rule out the possibility of running as an independent or for a third party, particularly as the Republican National Committee has required fealty to whoever becomes the presumptive nominee in order to participate in a debate. Cheney has said she would not support Donald Trump in 2024.
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“I can understand why they would not want me on a debate stage with Donald Trump,” she told Karl. “And I would imagine Donald Trump isn’t too interested in that.”
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