Wyoming Republican primary congressional candidate Harriet Hageman on Thursday night’s debate stage slammed opponent Rep. Liz Cheney (R-WY) for miscalculating who is a threat to the nation’s liberty.
While Cheney, a critic of Trump and his policies, said the former president has endangered the nation, Hageman responded, “Our republic is not in danger because of President Donald J. Trump,” but from other sources, including Hunter and Joe Biden and failed presidential candidate Hillary Clinton.
“President Trump was an excellent president for the United States of America and especially for the state of Wyoming,” Hageman said on the debate stage in Wyoming.
“The threat to our republic really comes from other sources,” Hageman continued, “including the fact right now we are seeing two systems of justice in this country, where we have one system of justice where you have people like Hunter Biden or Hillary Clinton or even Joe Biden, who are not accountable or held accountable for the decisions and the bad acts that they undertake.”
“The biggest threat to our republic is the current administration and the corruption of our institutions,” she added.
The debate comes on the cusp of the August 16 primary. Fearing she may lose to Hageman, down 28 to 30 points in the polls, Cheney has begun asking Democrats for their votes by sending direct mailers to Wyoming Democrats, requesting they change parties to be eligible to vote in the open Republican primary.
Hageman’s team has fought back by labeling Cheney a “DC diva,” who is “using her seat as Wyoming’s representative to pursue her own agenda” on the partisan January 6 committee.
“That’s not our agenda. We don’t agree with what Liz Cheney is doing,” she said in April.
Cheney, who is rarely seen in Wyoming, charged Wyoming residents $10 for admission to a campaign event, Politico reported about a gathering at Jackson’s Center for the Arts. During the event, Cheney reportedly only answered pre-selected questions, perhaps to avoid the ire of Wyoming voters.
“Liz Cheney has lost Wyoming. Liz Cheney doesn’t live in Wyoming. She doesn’t represent us,” Hageman told Breitbart News. “She doesn’t represent our values.”
Cheney is in hot water after opposing America First policies, voting to impeach Donald Trump, and allying herself with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s (D-CA) January 6 Committee, which has sought to investigate the January 6 incident without focusing on the alleged FBI informants at the Capitol.
Cheney’s conduct has drawn condemnation from the Wyoming Republican Party and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy. After the Wyoming GOP voted to no longer recognize her as a Republican in November, McCarthy announced in February his endorsement of Hageman to defeat Cheney, a rare move for a minority leader.
Follow Wendell Husebø on Twitter and Gettr @WendellHusebø. He is the author of Politics of Slave Morality.