During Wyoming's recent Republican primary debate, Representative Liz Cheney defended her work with the House Select Committee tasked with investigating of January 6 insurrection, declaring that "the truth matters."
Her opponent, Harriet Hageman, who has received former President Donald Trump's endorsement, disagreed and backed Trump's "Big Lie" that the 2020 general election was stolen.
While none of that was a surprise, it was the way Hageman and the other candidates, which included state Senator Anthony Bouchard, businesswoman Robyn Belinskey, and retired United States army colonel Denton Knapp, bungled their answers that attracted negative attention and comparisons to an episode of Saturday Night Live.
A video of some of their remarks was assembled by the Republican Accountability Project, a coalition of prominent conservatives who have targeted Republicans they hold responsible for the attack against the nation's seat of government, which took place after a mob of Trump's supporters, many of them White nationalists and White supremacists, stormed the Capitol on the false premise the 2020 general election had been stolen.
You can watch it below.
\u201cThis wasn't SNL on a Thursday night.\n\nThis was Wyoming's Republican primary debate.\u201d— The Republican Accountability Project (@The Republican Accountability Project) 1656682917
Belinskey stumbled when asked about the January 6 insurrection and could not provide an answer, only muttering, "Oh gosh" and chuckling to herself while the cameras rolled.
Her response lies in stark contrast to the response Cheney gave, in which she referred to the attack as a clear "attempt to delay the count of the electoral votes."
When asked about COVID-19 vaccine policy, Hageman referred to Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation's leading expert on infectious diseases, as "one of the more corrupt officials in Washington, D.C.," while Cheney stressed that "everyone ought to get vaccinated and we need to do everything we can to protect ourselves from future viruses."
The proceedings only grew more comical after Belinskey brought up MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell, a prominent Trump acolyte and election fraud conspiracy theorist; and after Bouchard gave a nonsensical response about "Facebook using the system to steer people," adding that "all the major internets do that."
Hageman also went so far as to cite 2000 Mules—the patently false "documentary" by right-wing political commentator and Trump pardon recipient Dinesh D'Souza that asserts geotagged cellphone data proved voter fraud had taken place–as an example of a development that challenged the faith Wyoming voters have in the electoral process.
And again, these responses contrasted with Cheney's, which noted that Trump has "consistently said that the election was stolen when it wasn't." Nor did Cheney launch into conspiracies about Ukraine: Later, Belinskey accused the Ukrainian government and the Biden administration of engaging in "money laundering."
For many, the video demonstrated that Cheney was the only actual adult in the room.
\u201cIdiocracy\ud83d\udc47. Thank God for Liz Cheney. My heart breaks \ud83d\udc94 for Wyoming. #Republicans\u201d— Lor (@Lor) 1656768202
\u201cNot about to become a Liz Cheney stan but this is really something. She's the only adult on stage.\u201d— Erin Gibson \ud83e\ude90\u2728 (@Erin Gibson \ud83e\ude90\u2728) 1656771525
\u201cHow did they even manage to get dressed?\u201d— George Hahn (@George Hahn) 1656765220
\u201cThis isn\u2019t satire, it\u2019s a horror movie where everyone in the theater is screaming, \u201cListen to the blonde in the gray jacket!!!\u201d\u201d— Rachel Vindman \ud83c\udf3b (@Rachel Vindman \ud83c\udf3b) 1656706750
\u201c\u201cAll the major internets\u201d??\n\nThere\u2019s more than one internet? Does the dark web count as a \u201cmajor internet\u201d?\n\nUnbelievable\u2026.yet not surprising \n\n#VoteThemAllOut2022 #VoteBlueToSaveDemocracy #FreshVoicesRise\u201d— \ud835\udc02\ud835\udc22\ud835\udc2d\ud835\udc22\ud835\udc33\ud835\udc1e\ud835\udc27\ud835\udc2c \ud835\udc05\ud835\udc28\ud835\udc2b \ud835\udc04\ud835\udc2a\ud835\udc2e\ud835\udc1a\ud835\udc25\ud835\udc22\ud835\udc2d\ud835\udc32 (@\ud835\udc02\ud835\udc22\ud835\udc2d\ud835\udc22\ud835\udc33\ud835\udc1e\ud835\udc27\ud835\udc2c \ud835\udc05\ud835\udc28\ud835\udc2b \ud835\udc04\ud835\udc2a\ud835\udc2e\ud835\udc1a\ud835\udc25\ud835\udc22\ud835\udc2d\ud835\udc32) 1656708637
\u201c\u201cWhen I talked to Mike Lindell\u2026\u201d \u201c\u2026the internets\u2026\u201d. ???? My god, it\u2019s a pandemic of stupid.\u201d— BillyBard (@BillyBard) 1656709660
\u201cAbsolutely wild but true that most GOP voters will see this and think Liz is the crazy one. Because, IT\u2019S A CULT.\u201d— S.E. Cupp (@S.E. Cupp) 1656730194
\u201cLiz Cheney stands out as the only sane candidates, who plans, cares, and is doing quite-a-bit to save our country and our democracy. \nI believe, what she has already done for America is commendable.\nShe is the best patriotic candidate for the Republican Primary. #Jan6thCommittee\u201d— Managing Editor (@Managing Editor) 1656739449
\u201cREPUBLICAN DEBATE\nCan you spot the wing nuts? @gop\u201d— Bombshell DAILY \ud83d\udca3 (@Bombshell DAILY \ud83d\udca3) 1656746076
Hageman is widely considered to be Cheney's biggest threat. She currently leads by about 30 points in polls.
Cheney angered her own party and was ousted from her leadership position in the House after she pushed back against Trump's falsehoods about the 2020 general election. Trump had issued a statement, more than three months after President Joe Biden took office, calling Biden's victory "the big lie."
Cheney responded shortly afterward with a statement of her own affirming that the election "was not stolen," adding that anyone who says it was is "turning their back on the rule of law, and poisoning our democratic system."
House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy has long denied that the successful effort to remove Cheney from her position as the House's third-ranking Republican is in any way related to her vote to impeach Trump for inciting an insurrection against Congress.
