One of the loudest critics of Donald Trump is considering throwing her hat in the ring for 2024. Liz Cheney has begun making the rounds on cable television to promote her latest book and has begun teasing that she may run as a third-party candidate to disrupt the former president’s attempt at reclaiming the White House.
Without much proof, the former congresswoman from Wyoming argues–similar to what was argued by Democrats in 2016–that another Trump term will mean the end of the United States as we know it.
The Washington Post reports:
While promoting her new book “Oath and Honor: A Memoir and a Warning,” the former Wyoming congresswoman — who was defeated by a Trump loyalist last year — is warning that Trump could transform America’s democracy into a dictatorship if he is reelected; anticipating, she said, that he would attempt to stay longer than his term.
“Several years ago, I would not have contemplated a third-party run,” Cheney said in a Monday interview with The Washington Post. But, she said, “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.”
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.
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.
Cheney has long opposed Trump, but has turned up her criticism of the former president since the mobbing of the United States Capitol in 2021. Shortly after Biden’s inauguration, Cheney joined Nancy Pelosi’s “January 6 committee, one of two Republicans to serve on the committee.
The daughter of former Vice President Dick Cheney, Liz has long held herself in high esteem. During her 2022 concession speech following her loss in the Republican primary for her congressional seat, she compared herself to Abraham Lincoln, who lost a Senate seat before becoming president.
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