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United States: Cheney's defeat "confirms that anti-Trump Republicans are being pushed out"

Liz Cheney speaks, Tuesday, August 16, 2022, in Jackson.

AP - Jae C. Hong

Text by: Stefanie Schüler Follow

4 mins

Liz Cheney lost the Republican Party primaries in Wyoming on Tuesday, August 16, in favor of a pro-Trump candidate.

In this rural state of the United States, this name is known to all.

Her father, Dick Cheney, was Vice President of George W. Bush.

Elected to the House of Representatives for six years, Liz Cheney has become known for her very conservative positions.

And yet, in recent months, she has become one of the few voices in the ranks of Republicans to dare to oppose Donald Trump and his story that the 2020 presidential election was stolen from him.

Liz Cheney is paying a high price.

Three questions for Lauric Henneton, teacher at Versailles Saint-Quentin University and specialist in American politics.

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RFI: Does the defeat of Liz Cheney mean that the majority of Republican voters are now Trumpists

Lauric Henneton:

A Republican primary in Wyoming is the most vocal and motivated of a single-party electorate in a highly unrepresentative state.

So we're talking about something really microscopic (on a national scale, editor's note).

At the same time, if Liz Cheney can no longer convince those voters who still voted for her two years ago, at 73%, this does not only represent a personal defeat for her.

It is also the sign of a reversal of his electorate and therefore of part of the Republican electorate, although one should not generalize either.

There are several nuances in the Republican electorate, especially in the suburbs of large cities in Virginia, Florida or Georgia.

Therefore, the defeat of Liz Cheney does not necessarily presage

a total pacing of the Republican electorate.

But she confirms that all anti-Trump Republicans are now either pushed out by the party itself and do not run again, or pushed out during elections, and especially during the primaries.

Is the Republican Party today completely subservient to Donald Trump

Almost completely.

A certain number of Republicans are not necessarily anti-Trump, but find that dwelling on the past, on a lost election, is not very constructive and that it is better to propose practical solutions to the problems of Americans.

It is better to move forward.

There are a number of figures, including senior figures in the Republican Party, who think enough is enough.

Except that with the voters, especially during the primaries, it becomes complicated for members of the Republican Party to oppose Donald Trump.

Liz Cheney has already warned that she intends to continue her fight to prevent Donald Trump from returning to the White House.

Does she have the means to create opposition to the ex-president even in the ranks of the Republicans

It seems very complicated to me.

Firstly because the apparatus of the Republican Party at the local and state levels is more or less taken over by the Trumpists.

This is more of a grip from below than a grip from the top of the Republican apparatus.

Second, because we know that in the American political system, it is impossible to create a viable third party.

A third party can have a “spoiler” effect, ie it divides one camp to make the other win.

In the case of Liz Cheney, would that mean she would create a movement to attract a certain number of Republicans, few, but enough to cause the Republicans to lose the election?

It is unlikely because she is still very conservative.

You shouldn't take her for someone she isn't!

She is an ultraconservative in her votes in Congress.

Which makes his defeat in the primary elections in Wyoming all the more resounding.

'Cause she didn't become a

.

On the contrary, she has a very, very high score for conservatism in Congress.  

Liz Cheney co-chairs the House of Representatives Committee of Inquiry into the January 6, 2021 storming of the Capitol by supporters of Donald Trump.

But she will therefore no longer be a member of the Chamber from next January.

What does this mean for the commission of inquiry

Anyway, even if Liz Cheney had won the primary, she could not have continued to co-chair the commission beyond next January.

Because what's looming is a Republican victory in the House of Representatives in the midterm elections.

The commission of inquiry on January 6 will therefore be dissolved.

Therefore, Liz Cheney's loss in the Wyoming primary doesn't really have an impact on the commission.

What will however have an impact on the commission is the probable victory of the Republicans in the House in November.

►Headline of the press review: In the United States, Liz Cheney loses the Republican primary in Wyoming

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