The war of words between Liz Cheney and various other Republican leaders continues, with Ted Cruz being the latest to draw Cheney's ire.

A week ago, Congresswoman Cheney appeared on ABC's This Week and told host Jonathan Karl that it "would be very difficult" to support Josh Hawley (of Missouri), Ron DeSantis (of Florida), or Ted Cruz (of Texas) as presidential candidates.

"I think the fundamental question for me in terms of whether or not someone is fit to be president is whether they've abided by their constitutional obligations in the past."

In Cheney's mind, none of those men have.

"I think certainly when you look at somebody like Josh Hawley, or somebody like Ted Cruz, both of whom know better, both of whom know exactly what the role of Congress is, in terms of our constitutional obligations with respect to presidential elections, and yet both of whom took steps that fundamentally threatened the constitutional order and structure in the aftermath of the last election," Cheney said. "In my view, they both have made themselves unfit for future office."

This isn't the first time Cheney has called out Cruz, either.

Back in 2021, Cruz appeared on the Fox News program Hannity and told the titular host that former president Donald Trump 'broke' Cheney.

"I've always liked her, I haven't agreed with her on everything — I think she's a bit too eager to send in the Marines and to invade countries all over the planet — but I've always liked her, and I think she falls into the category of people who Donald Trump just broke, just shattered," Cruz said. "She hates Donald Trump so much that it just has overridden everything in her system. She's lashing out at Trump and Republicans and everything, and she's become a Democrat, and it's sad to watch what has happened. It is Trump derangement syndrome."

In response, Cheney did not concede.

"Trump broke Ted Cruz," she told CNN's Melanie Zanona. "A real man would be defending his wife, and his father, and the Constitution."

Cheney was referencing the fact that the former president once criticized Cruz' wife, comparing her to his own wife by Tweeting that 'The images are worth a thousand words.'

Cruz didn't take kindly to Trump's remarks, telling reporters that he doesn't get "ticked off" easily.

"I don't get angry often," he said, "but if you mess with my wife, if you mess with my kids, that will do it every time. Donald, you're a sniveling coward, and leave Heidi the hell alone."

But at some point throughout the succeeding years, Cruz changed his tune, even penning a tribute article to the president, who was voted as Time's 100 Most Influential People, back in 2018.

"President Trump is doing what he was elected to do: disrupt the status quo," he wrote. "That scares the heck out of those who have controlled Washington for decades, but for millions of Americans, their confusion is great fun to watch."

To Cheney, his change of heart was not surprising.

"Understanding Ted Cruz isn't difficult," Cheney tweeted on Tuesday. "He lacks principle and has always been a chameleon who will say anything, anytime. He thinks he's so smart no one can see through him. Ted, we can. All of us can."


Cruz, in response, channeled Don Draper, using a gif of the television show Mad Men, in which Draper told one of his adversaries that he "doesn't think about you at all."  

 

Wyoming Responds: Was January 6 an Insurrection or an Inconvenience?

More From Laramie Live