Why Liz Cheney Had to Go
Slate News
Slate Podcasts
4.5 • 6K Ratings
🗓️ 12 May 2021
⏱️ 21 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Does the looming ouster of a devoted Trump critic from House GOP leadership mean the party remains in thrall to the former president? Or does it just mean that Republican political leaders don’t want to keep talking about him?
Guest: Eliana Johnson, Editor-in-chief at the Washington Free Beacon.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | When I try to pin down the moment things started to change for Representative Liz Cheney, Republican of Wyoming, |
| 0:12.5 | I think about this press conference she was at back in February. |
| 0:15.8 | Hi, everyone. Thanks very much for being here today. |
| 0:20.0 | Just to set the scene here, Cheney's speaking in her role as chair of the House GOP conference. |
| 0:25.7 | She is there to trash talk Joe Biden's stimulus plan. |
| 0:29.1 | She does that. |
| 0:30.2 | Then she turns things over to her colleagues. |
| 0:32.4 | The last person to speak is House Minority Leader, Kevin McCarthy. |
| 0:36.7 | The American public deserves better, and that's exactly what Republicans were proposed. |
| 0:41.3 | For that, let's take question. |
| 0:42.3 | Yes, ma'am. |
| 0:43.3 | The conservative political action conference was scheduled to kick off the next day. |
| 0:47.3 | President Trump was scheduled to speak there, even after the January 6th riot, even after he got impeached, again. |
| 0:55.7 | So a reporter asks, should Trump really be giving this speech? |
| 1:01.2 | McCarthy's blunt. |
| 1:02.4 | Yes, he should. |
| 1:03.7 | Then that reporter asks Cheney what she thinks. |
| 1:07.7 | That's up to CPAC. |
| 1:09.0 | I've been clear of my views about President Trump. |
| 1:12.0 | And while the minority leader closes his eyes |
| 1:14.2 | in what seems like resignation, |
| 1:17.3 | Cheney says how she feels. |
... |
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