Freddy Gray Freddy Gray

Why the NeverTrumper dream isn’t coming true

Republican voters have rejected Liz Cheney

Liz Cheney (Photo: Getty)

In perhaps the least surprising electoral result we’ll see in America this year, the Republican congresswoman Liz Cheney lost to her Trump-backed opponent in Wyoming last night. Harriet Hageman absolutely monstered Cheney in the end ­– beating her by some 30 percentage points, ten more than most experts predicted.

Cheney knew long ago she was going to lose. She had become a pin-up for that strange and stubborn alliance of Bush-era Republicans and the pro-Democratic US media; another darling of the old NeverTrump front. These darlings don’t win Republican primaries.

It is unfair to cast Cheney as a classic NeverTrumpist, of course: she voted with Trump 93 per cent of the time, as many have pointed out. She voted against impeaching him in 2019. It was only after the terrible scenes of January 6th, the storming of the Capitol, that she decided Trump had to be removed from Republican politics. She has now dedicated — even sacrificed — her political career to that end.

Comments

Join the debate for just $5 for 3 months

Be part of the conversation with other Spectator readers by getting your first three months for $5.

Already a subscriber? Log in