Wyoming G.O.P. Congresswoman Liz Cheney has said many Republicans were "in the grips of a dangerous former president." She also said she would campaign for candidates running against those G.O.P. "election deniers" up for reelection to Congress.

Cheney commented on the August 21 broadcast of ABC's "This Week." She spoke about her defeat in the August 16 G.O.P. primary election for Wyoming's lone seat in the House of Representatives and her political future.

'No regrets'

When asked whether she regrets her opposition to former President Donald Trump and his claim to have won the 2020 election, Cheney replied: "No regrets." She recalled having "an excellent talk" with President Joe Biden after her election defeat.

She said they had discussed "the importance of putting the country ahead of partisanship."

An enduring bond among anti-Trump G.O.P. Congress members

Cheney said she had also heard from the other Republican members of Congress who had voted to impeach Trump. The shared experience of deciding to impeach him and facing the consequences "will be a bond, I would imagine, forever," she said.

Cheney is now the vice chair of the congressional January 6 Committee, investigating the violent attack on the Capitol by Trump supporters on January 6, 2021.

On the day of the broadcast, the committee tweeted a quote from member Congresswoman Stephanie Murphy expressing the committee's concerns.

"Trump insisted that his loss was due to fraud in the election process, rather than to the democratic will of the voters," Murphy said. "Too many of our fellow citizens still believe it to this day.

It's corrosive to our country and damaging to our democracy."

During the broadcast, Cheney said her election defeat was a sign that many Republicans still believed that Trump had been robbed of the election "which is very dangerous." Much of her party's leadership "is very sick," she added.

'I believe in Republican policies'

Cheney insisted, "I believe in Republican values." As a Republican, she said she wanted:

  • "Low taxes"
  • "A strong national defense"
  • "A limited government"
  • Families as "the center of our lives in our communities."

By supporting Trump's claim to have been cheated out of reelection, Senators Ted Cruz and Josh Hawley "have made themselves unfit for future office," Cheney said. Likewise, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy should never be Speaker of the House because he had "been completely unfaithful to the Constitution," she said. If she decided to launch a presidential campaign, it would be done "with the intention of winning" rather than to simply make a statement, she said.

During the broadcast, a brief reference was made to Cheney's new political action committee (P.A.C.). On the day after her election defeat, Cheney "officially set up a new leadership P.A.C. called The Great Task, to continue her fight against Trumpism going forward," wrote Daniel Strauss in The New Republic.

Strauss quoted fellow January 6th Committee member, Democrat Congressman Jamie Raskin, as saying Cheney would "follow Donald Trump to the gates of hell if she needs to" in order "to make sure that justice is done and that truth is known."
© ALL RIGHTS RESERVED