"Whatever it takes": Cheney considers third-party bid to stop Trump in 2024
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Former Rep. Liz Cheney. Photo: Gary Gershoff/Getty Images
Former Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) is considering a third-party presidential bid as she seeks to do "whatever it takes" to stop former President Trump from winning in 2024, she told the Washington Post in an interview published Tuesday.
Why it matters: Cheney, an outspoken critic of the former president, said that she "would not have contemplated a third-party run" several years ago, but now she thinks the stakes are too high.
- "I happen to think democracy is at risk at home, obviously, as a result of Donald Trump's continued grip on the Republican Party, and I think democracy is at risk internationally as well," Cheney told the Post.
The big picture: Some Trump critics fear that a Cheney candidacy could siphon off votes from President Biden in the general election, but she told the Post that she would factor those considerations into her decision.
- Cheney also did not rule out supporting Biden in 2024 if she decides not to run.
- "There are a majority of the voters in this country who are too responsible to entrust Donald Trump with the authority of the White House and the authority of the presidency," Cheney told the Post.
- "So I think a large part of the task going into '24 is talking to those people and just making sure they have the facts in front of them."
Zoom in: Cheney, who lost her primary during the 2022 midterm elections, created a super PAC after her loss and poured money into races to prevent election deniers from winning.
- "[O]ur work is far from over," the former vice chair of the Jan. 6 select committee said after she lost.
- The former president made ousting the 10 House Republicans who voted for his impeachment after the Capitol Riot one of his top priorities of the midterm cycle.
What to watch: Cheney said that she will decide whether to launch a presidential campaign early next year.
- "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."
Go deeper: Dick Cheney told Liz to "defend the Republic" days before Jan. 6
