Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) is suggesting Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) would get “booed” off the stage at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC).
“Speaking of people who ought to lose primaries… if Liz Cheney were on this stage today, she’d get booed off of it,” Gaetz said on Friday as the crowd cheered.
Watch his part of his speech below:
.@RepMattGaetz discusses 'the establishment': "if Liz Cheney were on this stage today, she'd get booed off of it." @CPAC https://t.co/VlT7z8drtO pic.twitter.com/z0stKMl3Im
— NEWSMAX (@NEWSMAX) February 26, 2021
Gaetz called on Cheney to step down during the summer of 2020 because he believed she was working “behind the scenes (and now in public) against [Donald Trump] and his agenda,” as IJR reported.
“House Republicans deserve better as our Conference Chair. Liz Cheney should step down or be removed,” he wrote in a tweet.
Cheney weighed in on the comment, “Whether or not we have debates and discussions internally as I’m sure … we will continue to do, we are going to be absolutely united going forward on the big issues, and I’m not going anyplace.”
She recently received calls from other Republicans to step down from her leadership role, including Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas), as IJR reported.
He responded to Cheney’s comments on whether Trump should speak at CPAC.
“I consider Liz a friend, and I stood on the floor with the conference, defending her right to defend herself in taking what she described was a vote of conscience,” Roy told reporters on Thursday.
He added, “Yesterday, Liz forfeited her right to be chair of the Republican conference. You cannot stand up and make a statement that is so out of step with the Republican conference and where the American people, who support President Trump, are.”
Roy called it “unfortunate” that Cheney made those comments.
“She shouldn’t have said that. She did so purposefully. And she did so in a way that directly undermines the conference that she leads,” Roy said.
When asked if Trump should speak at the conference, Cheney said it is “up to” CPAC.
“I’ve been clear in my views about President Trump and the extent to which following Jan. 6, I don’t believe that he should be playing a role in the future of the party or the country,” she explained.
Cheney was one of the 10 Republicans who voted to impeach Trump following the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6.
