Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) doesn't see a connection between former President
Donald Trump falsely claiming the 2020 presidential
election was rigged and GOP legislators across the
United States passing restrictive voting laws.
Earlier this month, Cheney was ousted from her
Republican leadership position after repeatedly criticizing Trump and his claims, saying he was hurting democracy. During an interview with Axios on
HBO that aired Sunday, her assertion that there is no link between Trump and the voting laws was met with pushback from journalist Jonathan Swan, who reminded Cheney that last month, Georgia Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan (R) said Rudy Giuliani's false allegations of election fraud motivated lawmakers in his state to pass a law that makes it harder for voters to request and drop off absentee ballots and limits ballot drop boxes.
"I think everybody should want a situation and a system where people who ought to be able to vote and have the right to vote can vote, and people who don't shouldn't," Cheney responded. Swan interjected, asking Cheney what problems Georgia,
Texas, and
Florida are trying to solve, since there hasn't been any evidence of widespread voter fraud.
Each state is different with its own laws, Cheney said, and "what we can agree on is that what is happening right now is really dangerous." Cheney told Swan she will think about "sitting on the inaugural platform in January of 2001, watching Al Gore. ... I'm sure he didn't think he had lost. We had fought this politically very, very intense battle. And he conceded. He did the right thing for this nation. That is one of the one of the big differences between that and what we're dealing with now and the danger of Donald Trump today."