Former Rep. Liz Cheney (R-WY) lashed out at former presidential candidate Nikki Haley for supporting Trump after having criticized him during the 2024 GOP primaries. Haley on Monday clapped back at the nation’s most sad case of TDS and highlighted a key difference between their motivations.
The former lawmaker argued that “Those of us who have fidelity to the Constitution have a responsibility and a duty to recognize [that] this is not about partisan politics.”
Cheney, who is supporting Vice President Kamala Harris, also argued that “It’s important for people to recognize” that Trump is “not a conservative.”
During an appearance on Fox News, Haley countered Cheney’s criticism, saying the former lawmaker “can’t say my decision is not principled” and that she is “voting based on substance.”
“I respect her decision, but she can't say my decision is not principled. It actually is. We can either vote based on style or we can vote on substance. I'm voting based on substance. I'm looking at the fact we can't live the next four years like we did the last four years. This is no contest. Harris raised taxes, Trump reduced taxes. Harris wants to stop any energy production. Trump built it up. Harris is weak on national security. Trump was strong on national security. Harris has allowed the border to be infiltrated by 8 million people. Trump was much harder on the border.”
Haley continued, arguing, “This is about my family. This is about America.”
“If you don't like him, say you don't like him, but you can't say that his policies are worse than Kamala Harris'. That's just not a fact,” Haley concluded.
For the past few years, Cheney’s entire shtick has been “Orange Man Bad,” a stance that resulted in her losing a key leadership position among House Republicans and eventually brought about her ouster during the primaries. Apparently, voters decided that they wanted a representative who was going to focus on their legislative priorities, not just caterwauling about Trump every time they were on camera.
Yet, this exchange highlights a key difference between Republicans who have decided to throw in with Democrats because of Trump and those who are focused more on the state of the country. During her tenure in Congress, Cheney voted in line with Trump 93 percent of the time, which shows her decision is not being made based on policy. In fact, she has shown she is willing to sacrifice those policies to support a candidate who virulently opposes them.
So much for being “principled,” Liz.
On the other hand, Haley, who has serious disagreements with Trump, believes that supporting him and his policies is the best way to move America forward instead of taking her ball and going home to Democrats who oppose everything she claims to stand for.
Those like Cheney, her father Dick, and Mitt Romney have shown they are focused on one thing: Power. These people lost tons of influence when Trump came onto the scene and exposed them for what they were: Party officials who do not care about the needs of their constituents. Folks like Cheney want to see a return of the old guard to dominance over the GOP. I would surmise that they are banking on the slim possibility that if Trump loses, perhaps they can usher the party back to its pre-Trump do-nothing days.
But I think the writing is on the wall at this point. Even if Harris manages to defeat Trump, his movement is not going away anytime soon, and Republican voters sure as hell are not going to support a return to business as usual. For the time being, the time of the establishment has come and gone. The next person to become the figurehead of the party will resemble Trump far more than Cheney.