Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., the GOP conference chairwoman, on Sunday defended President Donald Trump in the furor over the “go back” rally chant aimed at four Democratic minority congresswoman, saying he rebuked the chant as “inappropriate.”
In an interview on CBS News’ “Face The Nation,” Cheney, daughter of former Vice President Dick Cheney, accused the media of wanting “to make this about race.”
“You’ve heard him say the chant was inappropriate,” she said. “We’ve all said the chant was inappropriate…the news media really wants to make this about race. You just did it. This isn’t about race. It’s not about gender. It’s not about religion.”
“The president has absolutely said they should not have chanted ‘send her back’,” she later added. “Our concern and our opposition to what these women are saying… has to do with the fact that they’re advocating policies that will destroy this nation. … the news media, you included, ought to cover the substance.”
Cheney said the four progressive lawmakers — Democratic Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Rashida Tlaib of Michigan, Ilhan Omar of Minnesota and Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts — and other Democrats are pushing “dangerous” policies.
“As Republicans were going to fight against those, even if the news media accuses us of racism when we do it,” she said. “It is not racism. I would like to see the media as focused on the substance on what this wing of the Democratic party is focused on because that is really dangerous for our country.”
She also got into a contentious back-and-forth with host Margaret Brennan over Trump’s Sunday tweet accusing the “squad” of not “capable of loving the country.”
"Are you gonnna let me answer your question? I got the question,” Cheney barked during Brennan’s comments as Cheney was trying to respond.
“This a moment where we have to be very clear… you don’t want to focus on the fact there are substantive differences. … this about policy,” she said.
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