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WASHINGTON (AP) – Representative Liz Cheney says she was wrong to oppose same-sex marriage in the past, a position that once divided her family.
Cheney, R-Wyo., A fierce critic of fellow Republican Donald Trump, also told CBS News’s “60 Minutes” that she sees her re-election campaign as the most important House race in the country as the forces aligned with the former president are trying to overthrow her. She voted to impeach Trump for his role in the Jan.6 riot on the U.S. Capitol.
In the interview that aired Sunday night, Cheney said she had little affection for President Joe Biden, who she said adopted policies harmful to the economy and national security with the withdrawal from Afghanistan. . “But the alternative cannot be a man who doesn’t believe in the rule of law and has violated his oath,” Cheney said.
The daughter of former Vice President Dick Cheney was an ascendant Republican leader before the January 6 riot, but she is increasingly defined by her public opposition to Trump and her grip on the GOP. Cheney, 55, noted that she still speaks with her father every night and that they share the same views on rejecting Trump.
Liz Cheney broke up with her family in 2013 by opposing same-sex marriage before a failed Senate bid. His objections sparked a breakup with his sister, Mary, a married lesbian. Mary’s wife, Heather Poe, posted on Facebook that year that Cheney’s position was offensive and that “I always thought that freedom meant freedom for EVERYBODY.”
In the interview, Cheney said her opposition to same-sex marriage was wrong and that she channeled her sister-in-law’s Facebook post to explain why she changed her stance.
“I was wrong. I was wrong,” she said. “This is a very personal question – and a very personal one for my family. I believe my father was right. And my sister and I had this conversation… Freedom means freedom for everyone.”
Though still opposed to gun control, abortion, and the Affordable Care Act, or “Obamacare,” the Wyoming congresswoman finds herself poised to vote to impeach Trump after his Jan. 6 rally preceded a crowd storming the Capitol in hopes of overturning his loss-to-Biden reelection. Trump continues to falsely claim election fraud despite results certified by states and Republican election officials and courts dismissing dozens of court challenges.
After voting to impeach Trump, Cheney lost her post as president of the House Republican Conference. Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi put her on a nine-person committee to investigate the Jan.6 assault and she is its vice-chair.
Trump has vowed to defeat Cheney in next year’s primary election by backing Republican lawyer Harriet Hageman. Cheney, seeking a fourth term, said nothing less than the authority of the Constitution is at stake.
“I think this will be the most important House race in the country in 2022. And – and it will be a race where people have a chance to say, ‘We want to stand up for the Constitution,'” Cheney said. “A vote against me in this race, a vote for whoever Donald Trump has approved, is a vote for someone who is willing to perpetuate the big lie, someone who is willing to pledge allegiance to Trump before allegiance. to the Constitution, absolutely. “
The Wyoming MP slammed Republican House Leader Kevin McCarthy of California for staying with Trump after the assault on Capitol Hill.
“What he did was hug Donald Trump,” she said. “And if I did what he does, I would be deeply ashamed of myself. I don’t know how you explain this to your children. When you are in a situation where you have someone who has done what Donald Trump has done, it is absolutely clear that they cannot continue to be someone you kiss. “
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