Ever since she broke with her party’s leadership by condemning former President Donald Trump’s conspiracy theories about the 2020 presidential election, Rep. Liz Cheney has been repeatedly attacked by fellow Republicans.
On Tuesday, Sen. Ted Cruz added to the pile-on, telling Sean Hannity that Trump “broke” and “shattered” the Wyoming Congresswoman.
“She hates Donald Trump so much that it just has overridden everything in her system,” Cruz added. “She’s lashing out at Trump and Republicans and everything, and she’s become a Democrat, and it’s sad to watch what has happened. It is Trump derangement syndrome.”
Cheney’s response is our quote of the day.
“Trump broke Ted Cruz. A real man would be defending his wife, and his father, and the Constitution.”
Rep. Liz cheney
Cheney comments – made to CNN – allude to the fact that Cruz has been excessively deferential to the former president, even though Trump suggested Cruz’s wife is ugly and his father is a murderer.
The Hill provides context:
Trump made a series of personal attacks on Cruz’s family during the 2016 Republican presidential primary, suggesting that Cruz’s father was involved in the assassination of John F. Kennedy and posting an unflattering photo of Cruz’s wife, Heidi Cruz, on Twitter, alongside modeling photo of Melania Trump, writing: “No need to ‘spill the beans.’ The images are worth a thousand words.”
Cruz responded at the time: “Donald, you’re a sniveling coward, and leave Heidi the hell alone.”
However, after exiting the 2016 presidential primary, Cruz became a staunch defender of Trump during his time in the White House.
This week’s back-and-forth between Cruz and Cheney is just the latest escalation in a hostile relationship.
On Saturday, Cruz shared a video on Twitter of CNN pundits discussing whether Cheney had a “lane” to run for president in 2024. The Texas Senator wrote, “Yes. It’s called the Democratic primary.”
Cheney responded, “I know you’re posturing for the secessionist vote, Ted. But my party, the Republican party, saved the Union. You swore an oath to the Constitution. Act like it.”
The GOP stripped Cheney of her leadership position earlier this year. She’s currently one of just two Republicans to sit on the House committee investigating the January 6th attack on the U.S. Capitol. Yesterday, she voted to censure Rep. Paul Gosar for sharing a cartoon video that depicts him murdering Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and wounding President Joe Biden. Except for Rep. Adam Kinzinger, the rest of the GOP has stood behind Gosar.
