Wyoming's former Rep. Liz Cheney, who could very well soon be a former Republican as well, has been going through great lengths to sell her book released on Tuesday, "Oath and Honor." We've been covering her hysterical and desperate claims and pleas about former and potentially future President Donald Trump, who, to her chagrin, is likely to become the Republican nominee once more. In addition to promoting her book, Cheney is also looking to potentially make some further announcements about her role in the Republican Party, if she even has such a role anymore.
Cheney has been saying for over a year now that she might run for president. She's raised speculation even before she lost her primary to now Rep. Harriet Hageman in August of last year by close to 40 points. That's now ramped up with the release of her book. She gave an exclusive preview to CNN last week ahead of its release, but she's also been doing the rounds to warn media outlets about how much of a supposed danger Trump is, especially if he's once more the nominee.
She's now talked to The Washington Post, resulting in a Tuesday morning headline that "Liz Cheney, outspoken Trump critic, weighs third-party presidential run."
Despite how close we are to the primary season and the general election, the report highlights how Cheney is still thinking about a run:
Given her appeal to independents, former Republicans and some Democrats, many Trump critics in both parties have noted that a presidential run by Cheney could undercut her stated goal of defeating Trump, because it could draw some votes away from President Biden. Cheney said those considerations would all be part of her analysis, and underscored that she would not do anything that would help Trump return to the White House.
Cheney, whose father is former vice president Dick Cheney, said she will make a final decision in the next few months. “We face threats that could be existential to the United States and we need a candidate who is going to be able to deal with and address and confront all of those challenges,” Cheney said. “That will all be part of my calculation as we go into the early months of 2024.”
The former congresswoman would face a daunting task if she decides to run — and not just because of the deep antipathy toward her that Trump fostered among many Republicans as he urged them to cast her from office. To run for president outside the two-party system in America, candidates must either attach themselves to third parties that have ballot access or petition for their own place on state ballots, which can be a costly and cumbersome process. In order for a candidate to participate in the debates organized by The Commission on Presidential Debates next fall, they must have at least 15 percent support in national polls and are required to meet other criteria.
We're now less than a year away from the 2024 presidential election, 48 weeks away to be precise. Many states have already had their filing deadlines. There's also already numerous third-party and Independent candidates in the race, including Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Cornel West, and Jill Stein. Who knows if retiring Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) will run as part of a "No Labels" ticket, or perhaps former Gov. Larry Hogan (R-MD), who keeps dancing around the issue.
If Cheney wants to run for president, she probably should have decided that many months ago, not be making her decision months from now.
The idea of a @Liz_Cheney third party run needs to be taken with an big grain of salt. You don't just snap your fingers and get on state ballots for an election less than a year out. Small parties work for years to get ballot access.. RFK Jr. is spending $10 mil to get on, etc.
— Garrett Haake (@GarrettHaake) December 5, 2023
Cheney's pretty much already left the party. This third-party run could further solidify that. Further, if her main mission really is to stop Trump, as she claims, running for president isn't the way to go about that. As Katie highlighted in August of last year, not long after Cheney lost her primary, polling at the time showed that Cheney would actually help Trump. The Washington Post makes mention of this as well, in the above excerpt.
Cheney's potential and actual campaigning for Democrats mentioned above also further soldifies how she isn't really a Republican any more. For the report also mentions other campaigning that Cheney did in November of last year, as well as what she might do in 2024 if she doesn't decide to run, with added emphasis:
If she does not run for the White House, Cheney is not ruling out voting for Biden or campaigning for him if he is the 2024 Democratic nominee. In a remarkable turn of events for a former member of House GOP leadership, Cheney also said she would use her influence in 2024 to ensure voters do not elect a pro-Trump Republican majority in the House and that she will back “pro-Constitution candidates” and “serious people,” regardless of party.
...
Her foray onto the campaign trail in 2024, no matter how she decides to involve herself, will be a fresh test of her political capital. In 2022, she focused on defeating election deniers such as Arizona GOP gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake and secretary of state nominee Mark Finchem in Arizona. (Both lost). This cycle, Cheney has held off from endorsing any candidates running as alternatives to Trump in the GOP primary. Given the antipathy toward her among Republicans, it is unclear whether her support would be helpful.
That there's "antipathy toward her among Republicans" is putting it politely. Again, she lost her primary by close to 40 points. Her book and media interviews are full of bashing Republicans, not just Trump or Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA), but also McCarthy's successor as speaker, Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA):
She argues that the Trump “enablers” who control the House — among whom she includes House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) — pose a serious threat because they would likely accede to Trump’s demands. That includes the possibility that Trump loyalists in the House would try to interfere with the election results in January 2025 if given the opportunity.
...
Cheney also writes at length about the attempts by Johnson, who was then a lesser-known congressman, to help Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election results. Recounting his questionable analysis as he presented himself as a “constitutional lawyer” in meetings with Republican members, Cheney charges that he was “especially susceptible to flattery from Trump” and “aspired to being anywhere in Trump’s orbit.”
Yet another CNN report on Cheney covers an appearance she had with "CBS Sunday Morning" in which she told host John Dickerson that "I believe very strongly in those principles and ideals that have defined the Republican Party, but the Republican Party of today has made a choice and they haven’t chosen the Constitution. And so I do think it presents a threat if the Republicans are in the majority in January 2025." This woman does not need to make it any more official that she no longer aligns with the Republican Party. Whether she likes it or not, Trump still plays a major influence.
As addressed in previous articles covering Cheney's ramblings against Trump, she's even gone with such hyperbolic claims, also made on "CBS Sunday Morning" in which she claimed that we're seeing "a sort of a sleepwalking into dictatorship in the United States." She also claimed to Savannah Guthrie on NBC's "TODAY" that "a vote for Donald Trump may mean the last election that you ever get to vote in."
While in office, Cheney served as the vice chair of the January 6 select committee. Another member included Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA). Whereas Cheney might be seeking higher office, Schiff definitely is, as he runs for the U.S. Senate. While speaking to MSNBC's Jen Psaki, Schiff agreed that Cheney was "absolutely right that Donald Trump will never leave office voluntarily, emphasizing that claim by adding "he just won’t." He even called him a "destroyer" of democracy.