Liz Cheney says she’s not running for president

Rep. Liz Cheney isn’t running for president, she said in a combative Fox News interview on Thursday.

The Wyoming Republican, who recently said she wouldn’t rule out running, told Fox’s Bret Baier Thursday night that she wasn’t throwing her hat in the ring after she was booted from her role as House GOP conference chair Wednesday.

“I am not, Bret,” Cheney told Baier, responding to his question about whether she is vying for the 2024 nomination. “What I think is really important is that we make sure that the former president, because we know what he is capable of … and because we know how important it is for us to be able to advance Republican ideals, that we make sure that he never again gets anywhere near the Oval Office.”

In a “Today Show” interview taped soon after Wednesday’s vote, Cheney said she would do “whatever it takes” to thwart another Donald Trump term when asked whether she’d consider running.

House Republicans voted quickly to vote Cheney from her leadership role because of her criticism of Trump. She’ll likely be replaced by Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.), a moderate turned Trump loyalist.

In the interview Thursday on Fox News, Cheney laid into the conservative television network. Dominion Voting Systems filed a $1.6 billion defamation lawsuit against Fox, arguing that it falsely claimed the company rigged the election.

“We all have an obligation, and I would say Fox News especially, especially Fox News, has a particular obligation to make sure people know the election wasn’t stolen,” Cheney said.

“We have said that numerous times,” Baier said.

“Bret, I’m going to answer your question,” Cheney said. “Fox News needs to make sure that the American people — ”

“If you are mentioning Fox News, you have to know that this show has said that numerous times,” Baier said.

“Bret, you are doing the interview. I’m answering the questions,” Cheney said. “We need to make sure that the American people recognize and understand that the election wasn’t stolen, that we shouldn’t perpetuate the big lie and that there is real danger.”

Baier later asked Cheney if she was comfortable with prominent Democrats like House Speaker Nancy Pelosi praising her for her anti-Trump stance.

“What we're talking about, these issues of the Constitution and the rule of law, should be above politics,” Cheney replied. “Every single one of us, everyone watching this show, everybody who works at Fox, everybody who is elected to office, all of us have to love our country more. ... And that means that there are moments when you have to put politics aside, when you have to say I will not be part of unraveling the democracy."

Trump has made a barrage of baseless claims that the 2020 election was “stolen” from him. Cheney has blasted Trump for his rhetoric, which she has argued incited the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol and could incite further violence.

Cheney survived a previous bid to remove her from leadership in February by a 145-61 secret ballot vote. With Trump still enjoying broad support among GOP voters, Cheney has fallen out of favor among Republicans after voting to impeach Trump on the charge he incited the insurrection. Polling suggests she’s now facing an uphill battle for re-election in Wyoming, a state in which Trump is very popular.