Liz Cheney, a former US Representative, was jeered at and had graduates turn their seats away as she spoke at Colorado College’s commencement on Sunday.
Cheney reiterated her harsh accusations of former President Trump but avoided discussing either her own political future or his 2024 reelection campaign.
The Republican from Wyoming criticized her House counterparts for not doing enough to refute Trump’s claims that the 2020 election was rigged.
Cheney urged the recent college grads to stand their ground when it came to the facts and slammed one of Trump’s post-election election fraud lawyers for allegedly telling a group of Republicans that it was “crucially important to make sure that college students don’t vote.”
While cheering Cheney on during her speech were many students and parents in the audience, others who didn’t agree with her selection as speaker booed her and turned their seats away from the stage.
One graduate’s message to Cheney was boldly written on her cap. It read: ‘Why listen to a racist, imperialist, transphobic, war monger?? Your hate is loud.’
Speaking about her work on the House committee looking into the attack on the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021, and standing up to the threat she thinks Trump poses to democracy, Cheney’s speech touched on themes that are similar to those she has championed since leaving office in January.
She also urged more women to run for office and criticized one of the Trump-hired election-challenging lawyers for recent comments he made about college students voting.
‘Cleta Mitchell, an election denier and adviser to former President Trump, told a gathering of Republicans recently that it is crucially important to make sure that college students don’t vote,’ Cheney said.
‘Those who are trying to unravel the foundations of our republic, who are threatening the rule of law and the sanctity of our elections, know they can’t succeed if you vote.’
According to the Washington Post, Mitchell mentions polling booths on college campuses and the convenience of voting as potential issues in an audio clip of her presentation from a recent Republican National Committee retreat.
Cheney, who earned his degree in political science from Colorado College in 1988, recounted entering a campus building as a student and seeing a Bible scripture etched over the entrance that read, “Ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”
‘After the 2020 election and the attack of January 6th, my fellow Republicans wanted me to lie. They wanted me to say the 2020 election was stolen, the attack of January 6th wasn’t a big deal, and Donald Trump wasn’t dangerous,’ Cheney said Sunday in Colorado Springs, connecting her experiences as a student to her work in the U.S. House of Representatives.
‘I had to choose between lying and losing my position in House leadership.’
During her three terms in office, Cheney worked her way up to the No. 3 Republican leadership position in the House. However, she was forced out of that post after voting to impeach Trump for the rebellion that occurred on January 6, 2021, at the Capitol, and then continuing to be critical of the previous president.
Since she left office, Cheney’s active speaking schedule and subject matter have increased rumors that she would run in the 2024 GOP presidential primary.
Candidates from Florida Governor Ron DeSantis to former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley have moderated their criticism of Trump in an effort to respond to his criticisms without losing the voters who helped him win the presidency seven years ago.
No declared or possible rival has embraced anti-Trump propaganda to the same degree as Cheney, notwithstanding some moderate reservations.
She did not mention her plans on Sunday, but in the past she has stated that she is still unsure about running for president.
Despite the difficulty of the task, Cheney’s adamant opposition to Trump and her position as vice chairwoman of the House committee gave her a strong platform from which to solicit financial backing for a White House bid.
