On Wednesday, House Republicans voted to remove Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) from her role in party leadership over her refusal to go along with the consistent lies from former President Donald Trump and his allies about the integrity of the 2020 presidential election. Trump has insisted that the election was somehow rigged for Biden, despite no supporting evidence. Cheney has denounced these lies, insisting that those who push the claims even after numerous court defeats are engaged in “war with the Constitution.” After her removal from party leadership, Trump released a petulant public statement.
Among other problems, Trump’s remarks about Cheney reeked of sexism. He described her as “bitter” and said that she “has no personality,” which — although a familiar tone from Trump — is remarkably derogatory, singling out Cheney’s personal attributes without any connection to policy issues. In general, it’s amazing for Trump to refer to someone else as “bitter.” Has he ever read any of his own public statements? On Wednesday, Trump ranted as follows:
‘Liz Cheney is a bitter, horrible human being. I watched her yesterday and realized how bad she is for the Republican Party. She has no personality or anything good having to do with Politics or our Country. She is a talking point for Democrats, whether that means the Border, the gas lines, inflation, or destroying our economy. She is a warmonger whose family stupidly pushed us into the never-ending Middle East Disaster, draining our wealth and depleting our Great Military, the worst decision in our Country’s history. I look forward to soon watching her as a Paid Contributor on CNN or MSDNC!’
The fact that a former president speaks in such staggeringly petty terms remains remarkable. Read his statement by clicking on the post below:
BREAKING: Trump statement on Liz Cheney: “I look forward to soon watching her as a Paid Contributor on CNN or MSDNC!” pic.twitter.com/8f94cCy0qp
— Benny (@bennyjohnson) May 12, 2021
Cheney, for her part, has indicated that she has no intention of backing down from her position against Trump’s lies. She was one of a total of 17 Republicans in Congress who supported impeachment in either chamber after a Trump-inspired mob violently stormed the Capitol in January, and following the vote to remove her from party leadership, she insisted to reporters that she would be doing everything she can to help block Trump from ever regaining the presidency. Trump has so far left the question open of whether or not he will run for office again.
Trump has indicated interest in backing a GOP primary challenger against Cheney in the 2022 midterm elections, although it’s unclear who might end up taking up that mantle. Cheney was elected to her current Congressional seat for the first time in 2016. Trump’s obsession with going after his opponents in the GOP could, in theory, negatively impact the party’s ability to win actual elections in coming years.
