During an interview this weekend for NBC’s Meet the Press, outgoing Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) criticized Mitch McConnell, the Senate Republican leader, for essentially glossing over Trump’s misconduct. Even after the Capitol riot, McConnell wouldn’t vote to convict Trump at an impeachment trial, which Cheney challenged on Sunday.
She was directly responding to reporting about the top Republican expressing dismay at her opposition to Trump. McConnell isn’t known as a Trump fan, but the option he has pushed is basically ignoring the ex-president. The two don’t often engage, with Trump seemingly always eager to lob insults at McConnell the second Democrats score even a slight legislative win, as though Mitch is plotting the downfall of the GOP. “Obviously, the idea that we could simply ignore Donald Trump, and the threat would go away, is clearly wrong,” Cheney said. “My view from the beginning has been, we have to as a party reject insurrection. We have to reject what he stands for. I don’t think this is an issue about which you can make a political calculation. I think it matters too much.”
In a Truth Social rant, Trump recently got particularly vicious in a way that could inspire certain followers of his to real-world violence. Just look at how Trump’s most fervent supporters transformed his election lies into action at the Capitol. “Is McConnell approving all of these Trillions of Dollars worth of Democrat sponsored Bills, without even the slightest bit of negotiation, because he hates Donald J. Trump, and he knows I am strongly opposed to them, or is he doing it because he believes in the Fake and Highly Destructive Green New Deal, and is willing to take the Country down with him?” Trump posted on September 30. “In any event, either reason is unacceptable. He has a DEATH WISH.”
“Look, the Speaker is second in line to the presidency,” Cheney added on NBC, asked Sunday about her specific concerns regarding the prospect of Kevin McCarthy becoming Speaker of the House. “And at every moment since, frankly, the aftermath of the election in 2020, when Minority Leader McCarthy has had the opportunity to do the right thing or do something that serves his own political purpose, he always chooses to serve his own political purpose. That extends to what we’ve seen just in the last few days with these comments about aid to Ukraine — the idea that somehow the party is now no longer going to support the Ukrainian people.” Republicans are generally favored to win control of the House in the midterms, although there’s obviously no way of knowing for sure, and Democrats certainly aren’t out of the running no matter any forecasters’ proclamations. Check out Cheney’s comments below:
WATCH: Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) responds to reporting that Sen. McConnell (R-Ky.) did not understand why she wouldn’t “just ignore [Trump] like I do.”@RepLizCheney: “I don’t think this is an issue about which you can make a political calculation. I think it matters too much.” pic.twitter.com/gTVZNtjz6V
— Meet the Press (@MeetThePress) October 23, 2022
