Exclusive Liz Cheney’s new book blasts GOP as ‘enablers and collaborators’ of Trump

Exclusive Liz Cheney’s new book blasts GOP as ‘enablers and collaborators’ of Trump, whom one member called ‘Orange Jesus’

In her new book, former Rep. Liz Cheney paints a scathing portrait of the Republican Party, condemning her former colleagues and party leaders as “enablers and collaborators,” who after the 2020 election were “willing to violate their oath to the Constitution out of political expediency and loyalty to Donald Trump.”

The book, “Oath and Honor,” which was obtained exclusively by CNN ahead of its Dec. 5 release, is an unflinching account of what Cheney calls the GOP’s “cowardice,” and how so many were willing to support former President Donald Trump, who she calls “the most dangerous man ever to inhabit the Oval Office.”

Cheney delivers a particularly devastating takedown of former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, who she says told her that Trump knew he’d lost the election. Cheney is also critical of McCarthy’s successor, House Speaker Mike Johnson, who “appeared especially susceptible to flattery from Trump and aspired to being anywhere in Trump’s orbit,” she writes.

The book serves both as a roadmap laying out how Cheney realized in the days and weeks following the election the dangers of what Trump and his allies were trying to do to overturn the 2020 election, as well as a stark warning that she believes the checks and balances of the Constitution will not hold if Trump is reelected in 2024.

“As a nation, we can endure damaging policies for a four-year term. But we cannot survive a president willing to terminate our Constitution,” the Wyoming Republican writes.

Following Cheney’s prominent role as vice chair of the House’s January 6 committee, which uncovered critical new details about Trump’s attempts to overturn the 2020 election, her book is a first-hand account of what was going on behind the scenes — and she names names.

Drawing from real time text messages, emails, calls and meetings, as well as personal conversations, Cheney calls out her Republican colleagues as hypocrites – who knew Trump lost but did his bidding anyway – and says their complicity is a threat to democracy.

“So strong is the lure of power that men and women who had once seemed reasonable and responsible were suddenly willing to violate their oath to the Constitution out of political expediency and loyalty to Donald Trump,” Cheney writes.

Cheney has vowed to do whatever is necessary to stop Trump from returning to the White House, including leaving open the door to a 2024 presidential run herself. If Trump is the party’s nominee, Cheney has said she will leave the GOP.