Liz Cheney says GOP has to stop being ‘party of white supremacy’

Comments likely to stoke division among Republicans

Republican congresswoman Liz Cheney has said the GOP must stop being the “party of white supremacy”.

In comments all but certain to further stoke division among Republicans as the party battles over its future, the daughter of former vice president Dick Cheney said it was vital not to ignore the symbols of racism and extremism that were on open display during the January 6 riot at the US Capitol.

“It’s very important for us to ignore the temptation to look away,” she said.

“It’s very important, especially for us as Republicans, to make clear that we aren’t the party of white supremacy.”

She added: “You saw the symbols of Holocaust denial at the Capitol that day, you saw the Confederate flag being carried through the rotunda, and I think we as Republicans in particular, have a duty and an obligation to stand against that, to stand against insurrection.”

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The comments by the Wyoming congresswoman, who is the third most senior Republican in the House of Representatives, come more than six weeks after the riot at the US Capitol, when hundreds of supporters of Donald Trump sought to halt members of both houses of Congress from ratifying the electoral college votes of Joe Biden.

They did so after Mr Trump held a rally that morning on the National Mall in Washington DC and urged supporters to “fight like hell”.

He was subsequently impeached by the House, but in the Senate Democrats fell 10 votes short of the two-thirds majority they needed to convict him, and possibly prevent him from holding office again.

Ms Cheney was one of 10 Republicans in the House who voted to impeach Mr Trump, who was accused of inciting an insurrection with his fiery words. Seven Republican senators also voted to convict.

All of them have faced hostility from the most loyal of Mr Trump’s supporters, including other members of Congress, many of whom sought to have her stripped of her leadership role.

Yet, Ms Cheney has brushed off such criticism, and rather doubled down on her criticism of Mr Trump and his brash populism, as the party seeks to define itself, as Democrats control the White House, the House and the Senate.

She did so again on Tuesday, in her comments delivered during a livestream Q & A hosted by the the Reagan Institute. 

“[It’s] incumbent upon everybody who takes an oath of office and swears to protect and defend the constitution that we recognise what happened on January 6, that we commit ourselves that it must never happen again, that we recognise the damage that was done by the president, President Trump, saying that somehow the election was stolen, making those claims for months and summoning the mob and provoking them then in the attack on the Capitol,” she said. 

“And also, and very importantly, in refusing, despite multiple requests from people to ask him to stop what was happening to ask him to stop the violence to protect the Capitol to protect the counting of electoral votes — he didn’t do so.”

While Mr Trump is no longer president and has been banned from Twitter, his presence looms large as Republicans seek to decide the message they want to deliver to voters, as they look ahead to the 2022 midterm elections when Mitch McConnell and others are determined to try and regain control of the Senate and the House.

She also said it was important for all politicians to condemn Mr Trump’s lies and actions 

“It’s an existential threat to who we are and it can’t be minimised or trivialised,” she said.

While there was no immediate response from the former president, it surely will not be long in coming.

He is due to deliver his first post-presidential speech when he addresses the Conservative Political Action Conference on Sunday afternoon.