Liz Cheney: Is She Running for President?

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Liz Cheney Making a Comeback? While the former Wyoming Congresswoman is not running for any office, she has released a 2024 ad critical of former President Donald Trump. 

Liz Cheney: A Comeback and Run for President? 

Former Rep. Liz Cheney, who turned on Donald Trump, served as Vice Chair of the January 6 Committee, and lost her Congressional seat in a Republican primary in 2022, does not presently hold any political office. Nor has she announced that she is running for any office. 

But that hasn’t stopped the former chair of the House Republican Caucus from launching an ad critical of Donald Trump, in the early primary state of New Hampshire. The ad was launched by Cheney’s political action committee, The Great Task. The television spot will air around Trump’s town hall, which will take place on CNN Wednesday night. 

“Donald Trump is the only president in American history who has refused to guarantee the peaceful transfer of power,” Cheney says in the ad. “He lost the election and he knew it. He betrayed millions of Americans by telling them the election was stolen. He ignored the rulings of dozens of courts.”

The ad also features plentiful footage of the January 6 insurrection, as well as Trump’s role in it. Both are among the targets of Special Counsel Jack Smith’s investigations into Trump’s conduct. 

“Donald Trump has proven he is unfit for office. Donald Trump is a risk America can never take again,” the ad says. 

Liz Cheney does not appear on camera in the ad, although it does feature her voiceover. 

What is the Plan? 

Does this mean Cheney is planning to run for president herself? That’s not clear, although MSNBC reported that Cheney is readying a memoir, called “Oath and Honor,” while also teaching a class at the University of Virginia. She has not ruled out a presidential bid. 

The Great Task is described on its website as “a multi-candidate PAC sponsored by Congresswoman Liz Cheney that is focused on reverence for the rule of law, respect for our Constitution, and a recognition that all citizens have a responsibility to put their duty to the country above partisanship. The Great Task is designed to educate and mobilize Americans in a unified effort to ensure that our Republic endures.”

Cheney had said in an interview last year that a 2024 campaign was “something I’m thinking about,” but she is not among those who have officially announced a run. She also vowed last fall to leave the Republican Party if Trump is nominated for president again in 2024. 

The most recent Republican primary tracker by Morning Consult, published May 9, has Cheney in 6th place, with 2 percent support.

Trump leads with 60 percent support, followed by Ron DeSantis with 19 percent, Mike Pence and Vivek Ramaswamy with 5 percent each, and Nikki Haley with 3 percent.

The survey does put Cheney ahead of Greg Abbott, Kristi Noem, Tim Scott, Asa Hutchinson, and “someone else,” all with 1 percent each. 

Cheney, the daughter of former Vice President Dick Cheney, would be running in the specific never-Trump lane, which none of the declared candidates so far are doing.

However, potential candidate Chris Christie appears to be considering that type of bid. 

Liz Cheney probably stands no chance of winning the Republican nomination or the presidency, as a campaign founded on opposition to Trump is likely not what the GOP primary electorate is looking for now. But a run could put Trump and Cheney on a debate stage together- possibly along with former Vice President Mike Pence, who would be up against his former ticket-mate, against whom he recently testified. 

Also in the Morning Consult poll, Biden is leading Trump by 2 points and DeSantis by 4 points in hypothetical head-to-head general election matchups. This follows the ABC-Washington Post poll released earlier this week that had Trump leading Biden by 6 points in a head-to-head matchup. 

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Expertise and Experience:

Stephen Silver is a Senior Editor for 19FortyFive. He is an award-winning journalist, essayist and film critic, who is also a contributor to the Philadelphia Inquirer, the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, Broad Street Review and Splice Today. The co-founder of the Philadelphia Film Critics Circle, Stephen lives in suburban Philadelphia with his wife and two sons. Follow him on Twitter at @StephenSilver.

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