Liz Cheney to give Colorado College graduation speech as GOP campaign speculation persists
Liz Cheney to give Colorado College graduation speech as GOP campaign speculation persists
By SAM METZ The Associated Press
FILE - Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., talks with former Sen. Joe Lieberman in the East Room before President Joe Biden awards the Presidential Medal of Freedom, to 17 people at the White House in Washington, Thursday, July 7, 2022. Former congresswoman Cheney will give a graduation speech Sunday, May 28, 2023, at Colorado College, a Colorado liberal arts college that is her alma mater, amid questions about her political future and promise to prevent Donald Trump from becoming president again. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)[ASSOCIATED PRESS/J. Scott Applewhite]
Former U.S. Rep. Liz Cheney will give a graduation speech at her alma mater, an elite Colorado liberal arts college, amid questions about her political future and insistence that Donald Trump never become president again.
At Colorado Colleges commencement on Sunday, the Wyoming Republican is expected to touch on themes similar to those she has promoted since leaving office in January: Addressing her work on the House January 6 Select Committee that investigated the U.S. Capitol insurrection and standing up to the threat she believes Trump poses to democracy.
Cheneys busy speaking schedule and subject matter have fueled speculation about whether she may enter the 2024 GOP presidential primary. Declared or potential candidates ranging from Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis to former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley have calibrated their remarks about Trump, aiming to counter his attacks without alienating the supporters that won him the White House seven years ago.
Though some have offered measured criticisms, no Trump challenger has embraced anti-Trump messaging to the same extent as Cheney. In her three terms in office, she rose to the No. 3 GOP leadership position in the House, a job she lost after voting to impeach Trump for the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection at the Capitol and then not relenting in her criticism of the former president.
I feel very strongly about where the country needs to go, and I feel very strongly about how important it is that Donald Trump not be president ever again, Cheney said at a March forum at Boston College.
FILE - Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., speaks Aug. 16, 2022, at a primary Election Day gathering in Jackson, Wyo. Former congresswoman Cheney will give a graduation speech Sunday, May 28, 2023, at Colorado College, a Colorado liberal arts college that is her alma mater, amid questions about her political future and promise to prevent Donald Trump from becoming president again. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong, File)
Photo: ASSOCIATED PRESS/Jae C. Hong
FILE - Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., vice chair of the House Select Committee investigating the Jan. 6 U.S. Capitol insurrection, delivers her "Time for Choosing," speech at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Museum Wednesday, June 29, 2022, in Simi Valley, Calif. Former congresswoman Cheney will give a graduation speech Sunday, May 28, 2023, at Colorado College, a Colorado liberal arts college that is her alma mater, amid questions about her political future and promise to prevent Donald Trump from becoming president again. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill, File)
Photo: ASSOCIATED PRESS/Mark J. Terrill
Sunday, May 28, 2023 at 5:35 am