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- Rep. Liz Cheney said Fox News “especially” has an “obligation” to ensure Americans know the 2020 election wasn’t “stolen.”
- Cheney’s remarks came after she was ousted from her leadership position by House Republicans a day earlier.
- Fox News host Bret Baier responded by saying Fox News has reported “numerous times” that the election wasn’t stolen.
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Rep. Liz Cheney clashed with a Fox News host on Thursday, saying the news outlet “especially” has a “particular obligation to make sure people know the election wasn’t stolen.”
Cheney’s scathing comments came after House Republicans voted Wednesday to oust her from her leadership position amid her public criticisms of former President Donald Trump.
“We all have an obligation, and I would say Fox News especially, especially Fox News, has a particular obligation to make sure people know the election wasn’t stolen,” Cheney said during an interview with Fox News host Bret Baier.
Cheney has been embroiled in a political firestorm after criticizing Trump and other GOP lawmakers who still embrace him post-presidency, particularly with regard to claims the 2020 election was rigged, and about the Capitol insurrection.
The Wyoming congresswoman has consistently pushed back against her colleagues’ false claims the 2020 election was rigged. In January, she was one of just 10 Republicans who voted to impeach Trump in the aftermath of the Capitol riots.
In a tense exchange on Thursday, Cheney argued with Baier over Fox News’ reporting of the 2020 election, saying “we have to be in a position where we are being clear. We stand for the rule of law,” and Fox News “needs to make sure” that they are doing the same.
-Justin Baragona (@justinbaragona) May 13, 2021
“We need to make sure the American people recognize and understand that the election wasn’t stolen, that we shouldn’t perpetuate ‘the Big Lie,’ and that there’s real danger,” she said.
Cheney added: “I’ve worked in countries around the world where we don’t have peaceful transitions of power, and all of us who are elected officials have got to make sure that we obey and abide by the oath that we swore to the Constitution, and that the peaceful of power is key to that.”
Baier responded to Cheney by saying Fox News has reported “numerous times” that the election wasn’t stolen.
On Wednesday, GOP lawmakers in the House voted to remove Cheney as House Republican Conference chair. McCarthy and his Republican allies have bristled at Cheney’s public criticism of Trump in recent weeks, and the House GOP leader authorized the vote to oust Cheney earlier this week.
“We all need to be working as one if we’re able to win the majority” in the 2022 midterm elections, McCarthy said during a Fox News interview last week.