Representative Liz Cheney, the Wyoming Republican and vice chair of the House committee investigating the January 6, 2021 Capitol riot, described former President Donald J. Trump in harsh terms Wednesday night as a threat to the republic that had “gone to war.” with the rule of law “.
“Right now, we are facing a domestic threat that we have never faced before, and this is a former president trying to unravel the foundations of our constitutional republic,” Ms. Cheney said in a speech at the Ronald Presidential Library Reagan. in Simi Valley, California, where his address was received with a standing ovation.
“He is aided by Republican leaders and elected officials who became volunteer hostages of this dangerous and irrational man,” he said, and continued, “Even after all we have seen, they are enabling his lies.” .
Mrs. Cheney spoke at a time when Mr. Trump is potentially on the verge of announcing a presidential campaign for 2024, according to his advisers, raising the possibility of a leading candidate in early polls who is also facing active civil and criminal investigations. . Mr. Trump has also continued to repeat lies about his loss in the 2020 election, maintaining that the contest was “stolen” from him.
“As the full picture is seen with the January 6 committee, it has become clear that the efforts that Donald Trump oversaw and in which he participated were even more terrifying and threatening than we could have imagined,” Ms. . Cheney.
Republicans, he said at another time, “must choose,” because “they can’t be both loyal to Donald Trump and loyal to the Constitution.”
It was a startling comment from the daughter of a former Republican vice president, Dick Cheney, against the current Republican Party leader, though he is out of office. Mrs. Cheney had been a supporter of Mr. Trump until shortly after the 2020 election, when he criticized him for his allegations of baseless fraud.
In May 2021, he said he regretted voting for him the year before.
Ms. Cheney, who was forced to step down as the No. 3 Republican in the House last year when she repeatedly excoriated Mr. Trump for the January 6 events, has become a fairly isolated presence. within a party that remains strong. subject to the former president.
She is seen as a potential presidential candidate in the 2024 elections, in which she could try to plant a flag showing how the party has transformed from what her father helped lead into a Trumpist reformer.
Mrs. Cheney began his speech by talking about undemocratic countries around the world and opposing nations in the United States, such as Russia and China. From there, he talked about Mr. Trump.
He praised Cassidy Hutchinson, a former aide to Mark Meadows, Trump’s last chief of staff in the White House, for her public testimony in Congress the day before.
“Her courage and patriotism were incredible to behold,” Ms. Cheney said.
Ms. Cheney faces a major rival backed by Trump for her seat in Wyoming Congress in August, and the race is widely seen as a tough battle for her.