Trump foil Liz Cheney to kick off Drew University speaker series with Mayo PAC interview

Former Wyoming Rep. Liz Cheney, a leading voice among Republicans opposed to Donald Trump, will kick off the annual Drew University Forum, a series of conversations with major newsmakers, on Oct. 23.

In anticipation of a large demand for tickets, "A Conversation With Liz Cheney" has been moved from the university's Madison campus to the 1,300-seat Mayo Performing Arts Center in Morristown.

Organizers of the event say Cheney "will provide exclusive insight into policy, principled leadership, and the future of bipartisanship."

Cheney represented Wyoming’s single at-large congressional district from 2017 to 2023. During her time in office, she chaired the House Republican Conference from 2019 to 2021 and served as the vice chair of the select committee investigating the Jan. 6 insurrection. She was also a member of the House Armed Services Committee, the China Task Force, the Natural Resources Committee and the House Committee on Rules.

A frequent critic of Trump and his administration — she was one of 10 Republicans to vote for his impeachment after the Jan. 6 riot at the Capitol — Cheney became one of the former president's favorite targets. He called her "a despicable human being" who is "hated by the great people of Wyoming."

Criticism from her own party led to her 2021 ouster as the House Republican Conference chair. The next year, she lost her seat in the Republican congressional primary in Wyoming to Harriet Hageman, a Trump-backed candidate.

"I believe that Donald Trump continues to pose a very grave threat — a risk to our republic — and I think defeating him is going to require a broad and united front of Republicans, Democrats and independents, and that's what I intend to be a part of," Cheney said after her primary loss.

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In 2022, Cheney, along with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, received the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library’s Profile in Courage Award. Cheney was commended for her “consistent and courageous voice in defense of democracy.”

Trump was less kind, saying during the Wisconsin primary that “the Republicans in the House of Representatives have a great opportunity today to rid themselves of a poor leader, a major Democrat talking point, a warmonger, and a person with absolutely no personality or heart.”

Cheney and her father, former Vice President Dick Cheney, co-authored the 2015 book "Exceptional: Why the World Needs a Powerful America." In December, she will release her latest book, "Oath and Honor: A Memoir and a Warning."

Tickets are $39 to $79 and are available online through the Mayo PAC website or at the theater's box office.

William Westhoven is a local reporter for DailyRecord.com. For unlimited access to the most important news from your local community, please subscribe or activate your digital account today.

Email: wwesthoven@dailyrecord.com 

Twitter: @wwesthoven

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This article originally appeared on Morristown Daily Record: Trump foil Liz Cheney to kick off Drew University speaker series