GOP Rep. Liz Cheney of Wyoming said Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’s resemblance to Donald Trump would make him a ‘dangerous’ presidential candidate in 2024.
In an interview with The New York TimesTrump’s conservative critic said she could support a Republican – but not the one who promoted the former president’s allegations of election fraud.
Cheney also indicated that she could not support DeSantis, despite the GOP governor’s rise in popularity over his opposition to the Biden administration over COVID-19 mandates and legislation that Democrats have described as anti-LGBTQ.
“I think Ron DeSantis has lined up almost completely with Donald Trump, and I think that’s very dangerous,” she said.
Cheney added that she would “find it very difficult” to support DeSantis.
Both DeSantis and Trump — as well as Cheney herself — have suggested they consider running for higher office in 2024.
But the former president has been the most outspoken of the trio, hinting in almost every public appearance that he is seriously considering a third campaign.
He’s even nervous that he might announce a decision before the November midterm elections — a move that seems to make Republican lawmakers nervous.
And according to South Dakota Senator Mike Rounds, that will play into Democrats’ hands just as voters head to the polls to decide which party will control Congress in the latter half of President Joe Biden’s term.
“Democrats, right now, would like to see President Trump announce before 2022,” ABC News’ Roundz said this week.
Republican Representative Liz Cheney said she would find it “difficult” to support a potential presidential campaign by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis during an interview with The New York Times.
I think it’s because they want to take attention away from the 2022 election and the candidates they’ve got.
He asserted that Biden’s low approval rating — which is just 37 percent, according to a new ABC/Ipsos poll — makes the president’s party eager to change the narrative.
And the other thing here, is that right now with President Biden as far as they’re underwater, their principles, their issues, the fact that inflation is over 9 percent, GDP is low, I think this is a good time for them to try and look at other things to talk about. Rounds said.
Trump addressed the Conservative Political Action Conference in Texas on Saturday night, touting his claimed victories and telling the crowd, “We may have to do it again.”
As in previous years, the former president also dominated a poll of attendees that asked about their thoughts on 2024.
Without Trump in the mix, DeSantis has 65 percent support — finishing dozens of points ahead of runner-up Sen. Ted Cruz, who has 6 percent.
Meanwhile, South Dakota Sen. Mike Rounds, also a Republican, has yet to say whether he will support Donald Trump in 2024.
Rounds Sunday will not commit to supporting Trump in 2024, but she hasn’t spoken out against the former president either.
In this particular case, I’ll focus on the 2022 election. “We have to get that back,” said the South Dakota Republican.
He expected a “wide open field” of candidates coming to the front.
I’ll keep my powder dry until 2024. Let’s see who else comes up, said Rounds.
Cheney herself also indicated in her speech that she was looking to attract a broader range of supporters.
She will likely lose her seat as Wyoming’s sole legislator in the House of Representatives next week, but she hasn’t ruled out running for president in 2024.
The conservative lawmaker faces a primary challenger backed by Trump after her vote to impeach the former president over the US Capitol attack angered him.
Trump and DeSantis both came out on top in a poll conducted at the Conservative Political Action Conference in Texas on Saturday.
Multiple polls indicated that Cheney’s opponent, Harriet Hagman, would score an easy victory. The Wyoming Republican Party supports Hagman after Cheney’s expulsion, as do House Republican leaders.
But her anti-Trump rhetoric and leadership as vice chair of the Jan. 6 committee had already won Cheney support across the aisle.
Her New York Times interview suggests she did so in an effort to connect with voters across the country.
Cheney told the outlet that the Wyoming moms are looking for a “qualified person” to drive.
She also aligns more closely with moderate Democrats who have a history of serving on the national security of the United States than she does with fringe members of her own party.
“I’d rather serve with Mickey Sherrill, Chrissie Hoolahan, and Elisa Slotkin than with Marjorie Taylor Greene and Lauren Poupert, though I certainly have major differences with the Democratic women you just mentioned,” Cheney said.
“But they love this country, they’re doing their homework and they’re people trying to do the right thing for the country.”
