Tipsheet

Liz Cheney Keeps Shooting Herself in the Foot

Look, she made her position clear and I guess she’s prepared to be skinned alive for it. Rep. Liz Cheney (R-WY) will not be supporting Donald Trump if the former president decides to run again in 2024. Cheney has already been a thorn in the side of the GOP base that is overwhelmingly pro-Trump. More Republican voters in her state voted for Trump than her in 2020. That’s a sign that a primary challenge could be possible in the coming months. The state party has censured her for supporting the second impeachment effort against Trump. 

It just makes no sense for her to be part of the leadership when the party is decidedly for Trump. He hasn’t made any announcement yet but should 45 decide to make another go for it—he clears the field. It’s why Nikki Haley has been making moves to ensure she’s not too badly scorched should her former boss run again. How can you be part of the congressional Republican leadership if you can’t back the leader of your own party? How can you be one of the faces of the House GOP caucus if you can’t back Trump? This already compounds her other issues that question her ability to lead the House GOP. Mollie Hemingway of The Federalist listed her problems in February. She can’t raise money and she supported primary challenges against the rank-and-file. Cheney backed a primary challenger to incumbent Republican Congressman Thomas Massie in Kentucky only to have that move blow up in her face; the challenger turned out to be a racist

Now, I guess we can’t fault Cheney for being inconsistent. She made her declaration quite clear: Trump should have no part in shaping the GOP’s future. 

The problem is that’s not what GOP voters want. And if you cannot abide by that, you have to go. Cheney is only painting a larger target on her back. She might very well survive the troubled waters she finds herself in at the moment, but the more she reminds the base that she’s anti-Trump—the greater the chances of a primary challenge. I think it’s coming either way.