Liz Cheney Blasts JD Vance’s 2020 Election Remarks: ‘Unconstitutional’

Former Representative Liz Cheney condemned Ohio Senator JD Vance’s remarks about how he would have handled the 2020 election if he were vice president then as “unconstitutional.”
During an appearance on the All In podcast, Vance, Republican nominee Donald Trump’s running mate, was asked if he would have certified the 2020 election results.
Vance said he doesn’t believe the issue was former Vice President Mike Pence’s failure to overturn the election results, as he was never asked to do so. Instead, the criticism was Pence could have done more to address the election problems.
“I happen to think there were issues in 2020, particularly in Pennsylvania. Some courts that refused to throw out certified ballots did say there were ballots cast illegally,” he said. “I would have asked the states to submit alternative slates of electors and ask the country to have a debate.”
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Cheney shared a clip from the interview on X, formerly Twitter, and wrote: “Let’s be clear: This is illegal and unconstitutional. The American people had voted. The courts had ruled. The Electoral College had met and voted. The Governor in every state had certified the results and sent a legal slate of electors to the Congress to be counted.
“The Vice President has no constitutional authority to tell states to submit alternative slates of electors because his candidate lost. That is tyranny. Our institutions held on Jan 6 because Mike Pence refused to violate his oath to the Constitution. Trump picked JD Vance because Vance will do whatever Trump wants, including violating the Constitution. They are both far too dangerous to serve. It’s our duty to stop them.”
The Trump campaign says that Cheney’s animosity toward the former president is rooted in her defeat in her 2022 House primary race to pro-Trump candidate Harriet Hageman. Cheney, the incumbent who ran on a platform of opposing the former president, was soundly defeated by Hageman, who took Cheney’s Wyoming U.S. House seat.
When reached for comment via email Tuesday afternoon, Trump campaign Steven Cheung told Newsweek, “Liz Cheney is a loser who is clinging on to any semblance of relevancy because President Trump crushed her campaign. It’s sad to see someone like Liz, who clearly suffers from a severe case of Trump Derangement Syndrome, beclown herself everyday.”
Trump’s relationship with Pence, his vice president, fell apart in the wake of the January 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol after Pence refused to back Trump’s false claims that he lost the 2020 election to Biden due to widespread voter fraud. As Congress and Pence were certifying the results, some rioters constructed a noose and gallows and chanted “Hang Mike Pence” outside the Capitol building.
Ammar Moussa, campaign spokesperson for Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris, issued a statement Tuesday following Vance’s remarks on All In.
“The Trump-Vance ticket is spending the days before the debate ratcheting up their dangerous lies, the same lies that inspired a mob to attack the Capitol and try to overturn the 2020 election. Donald Trump is telling us exactly what he will do if he wins – with the help of his Supreme Court justices, he’ll implement his Project 2025 playbook to give himself virtually unlimited, unchecked power and go after his political enemies.
“Trump’s campaign is solely about himself and his revenge and retribution. But the American people have another choice this fall and will elect the only candidate in this race with a positive vision for the future, focused on delivering for everyday families – Vice President Kamala Harris,” Moussa wrote.
Cheney and her father, former Vice President Dick Cheney, have long been critical of Trump—particularly after the Capitol riot.
She served as vice chair of the House select committee that investigated January 6. The former representative has since authored Oath and Honor: A Memoir and a Warning, in which she provides an insider account of the insurrection and discusses lingering threats to American democracy.
Speaking earlier this week at Duke University’s Sanford School of Public Policy, Cheney reiterated her position, saying she would not support Trump and instead cast her vote for Harris.
“As a conservative, as someone that believes in our Constitution, I have thought deeply about this,” she said in a video that has since gone viral. “Because of the danger that Donald Trump poses, not only am I not voting for Donald Trump, but I am voting for Kamala Harris.”
Dick Cheney, a lifelong Republican, will also be voting for Harris in the upcoming presidential election, his daughter revealed on Friday.
“Dick Cheney will be voting for Kamala Harris,” she said during an interview with Mark Leibovich of The Atlantic at The Texas Tribune Festival in Austin, sparking applause from the audience.
Update 9/10/24, 3:08 p.m. ET: This article was updated with additional information.