(Headline USA) Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie argued this weekend that Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., “wanted to be kicked out” of House GOP leadership amid fallout with her party over her vote to impeach former President Donald Trump.
“Look, my view has always been that Liz Cheney wanted to be kicked out,” he told ABC News, referring to House Republicans’ vote to remove her as the House GOP Caucus chairwoman earlier this year.
“Remember, the first time that she made the statement she made, she was reelected to her leadership position,” he explained. “It’s only when she continued after that, that looks like somebody who wanted to make a point and wanted to be kicked out.”
The host, ABC’s Jonathan Karl, then interjected: “She says the point she’s making is to defend the Constitution.”
“Whatever it is,” Christie replied, “it wasn’t like she was looking to protect her position … and the first time that Republicans inside that caucus had a chance to vote on this … they voted to keep her.”
Cheney is up for reelection this year and is facing a Trump-endorsed challenger who won a majority of Republican votes in a straw poll earlier this year. She has, however, used the negative publicity to rake in millions of dollars for her campaign, breaking her own previous fundraising records.
Several of the other House Republicans who voted to impeach Trump opted to retire instead of run for reelection, including Reps. Adam Kinzinger, R-Ill., John Katko, R-N.Y., Anthony Gonzalez, R-Ohio, and Fred Upton, R-Mich.
“Instead of attacking me and, more importantly, the voters of our movement, top establishment Republicans in Washington should be spending their energy in opposing Biden, Pelosi, Schumer and the Democrats,” Trump said last month. “Get rid of them all.”
