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Former Rep. Liz Cheney (R-WY) has been actively working alongside Vice President Kamala Harris as Election Day on November 5 approaches, prompting extreme comments from former President Donald Trump.
On Thursday, Trump labeled Cheney a “radical war hawk” and suggested, “Let’s put her with a rifle standing there with nine barrels shooting at her, OK? Let’s see how she feels about it. You know, when the guns are trained on her face.”
In response, Cheney, along with many others, condemned Trump’s remarks, stating they echoed those of a dictator. “This is how dictators destroy free nations. They threaten those who speak against them with death.”
Find out more about Cheney, who has been warning people about Trump for years, below.
1. She Was the Chair of the House Republican Conference
Cheney held the third-highest leadership position for Republicans in the House of Representatives since 2019. However, her “competency” came into question as she began openly criticizing former President Donald Trump for his repeated “Big Lie” about election fraud and his role in the Capitol siege. After she voted with Democrats to impeach Trump in January, a pro-Trump faction of the House, including Minority Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA), called for her removal from the chairmanship. A House committee voted behind closed doors to oust Cheney on May 12.
Rep. Liz Cheney speaks to reporters after she was voted out of her House leadership role, 5/12/21 (Shutterstock)
2. She Warned Fellow Reps About Trump in Her Final Speech
During the closed-door meeting to oust Cheney from House leadership, a source told ABC News that Cheney urged her colleagues not to let Trump make the GOP “complicit in his efforts to unravel our democracy.” Cheney said:
“Our nation needs this Republican Party as a strong party based on truth so we can shape the future. To do that, we must be true to our principles and to the Constitution. We cannot let the former president drag us backward and make us complicit in his efforts to unravel our democracy. Down that path lies our destruction, and potentially the destruction of our country. If you want leaders who will enable and spread his destructive lies, I’m not your person, you have plenty of others to choose from. That will be their legacy.”
“We cannot be dragged backward by the very dangerous lies of a former president.”
Rep. Liz Cheney delivered remarks shortly after being ousted from House GOP leadership amid criticism of former Pres. Trump. https://t.co/alrE7kblYd pic.twitter.com/7L2QP7npYU
— ABC News (@ABC) May 13, 2021
3. She Endorsed Harris for President in the 2024 Race
In September, Cheney endorsed Harris, becoming one of the most high-profile Republicans to support a Democrat.
“Because of the danger that Donald Trump poses, not only am I not voting for Donald Trump, but I will be voting for Kamala Harris,” Cheney said in a video posted on X.
Afterward, Harris’ campaign chair, Jen O’Malley Dillon, stated, “The Vice President is proud to have earned Congresswoman Cheney’s vote. She is a patriot who loves this country and puts our democracy and our Constitution first.”
Liz Cheney: “If you really believe, as I do, that Donald Trump is too dangerous ever again to be near the Oval Office, then I think that it’s incumbent upon us to go the extra step and actually cast a vote for Vice President Harris.” pic.twitter.com/XhnSFx1Iy0
— Republican Voters Against Trump (@AccountableGOP) September 23, 2024
4. Her Father Is Former VP Dick Cheney
Cheney is the eldest daughter of Dick Cheney, who served as vice president under former President George W. Bush from 2001 to 2009. In the House of Representatives, she occupied the same seat her father held as Wyoming’s congressman from 1979 to 1989.
WILSON, WY – AUGUST 16: In this handout image provided by David Hume Kennerly, former Vice President Dick Cheney (L) hugs his daughter Liz Cheney after she won the Republican primary for the U.S. Congress August 16, 2016 in Wilson, Wyoming. Vice President Cheney was formerly the U.S. Congressman from Wyoming. (Photo by David Hume Kennerly via GettyImages)
5. She Considered a Run for President as a Third-Party Candidate
As one of Trump’s most vocal critics in an increasingly fractured GOP with a growing hardcore fanbase, some political analysts viewed the former attorney as a potential leader. In her last speech before her May 12 ouster, she declared, “I promise you this, after today, I will be leading the fight to restore our party and our nation to conservative principles, to defeating socialism, to defending our republic, to making the GOP worthy again of being the party of Lincoln.”
However, by the end of 2023, Cheney clarified that her priority was ensuring Trump didn’t return to the White House. “I won’t do anything that would help him,” she said when asked about running as a third-party candidate on CBS Mornings. She emphasized the need for nonpartisanship and supporting “pro-Constitution candidates, no matter their party.”
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